prayer and worship -

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by Morris Williams

AN INDEPENDENT-STUDY TEXTBOOK

Developed in Cooperation with the Global University Staff

Global University 1211 South Glenstone Avenue Springfield, Missouri 65804

USA

Address of the local ICI office in your area:

First Edition 1978 Fourth Edition 1996 Reprinted 2001 02/01 600 PRO

@ 1996 ICI University, S1211E-90 a division of Global University PN 04.00.01 All Rights Reserved ISBN 978-0-7617-0730-1

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Page

Course Introduction ............................................................... 5

Unit ONE: Prayer And Worship: A Way Of Life

Lesson

1 Praying To Whom? ...................................................... 14

2 A Family Relationship ................................................. 32

3 A Kingdom Citizenship ............................................... 46

Unit Two: The Priority Of Worship

4 A King To Be Worshiped ............................................ 62

5 A Kingdom To Be Sought ........................................... 78

6 A Plan To Be Followed ............................................... 96

Unit Three: Needs Met Through Prayer

7 Support Needs Supplied .............................................. 120

8 Social Needs Satisfied ................................................. 136

9 Sanctity Needs Fulfilled .............................................. 150

10 Security Needs Provided For ........................................ 166

Glossary ................................................................................. 178

Answers to the Self-Tests ...................................................... 186

Student Reports ..................................................................... 191

Answer Sheets ....................................................................... 203

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THE ICI CHRISTIAN SERVICE PROGRAM

This is one of 18 courses (subjects) that make up the ICIChristian Service Program. The symbol at the left is a guide fororder of study in the series, which is divided into three units ofsix courses each. Prayer and Worship is Course 1 in Unit 2. Youwill benefit by studying the courses in the proper order.

Study materials in the Christian Service Program have beenprepared in a self-teaching format especially for Christianworkers. These courses provide a student with Bible knowledgeand skills needed for practical Christian service. You may studythis course in order to receive a certificate, or for personalenrichment.

ATTENTION

Please read the course introduction very carefully. It isimportant that you follow these instructions so you can achievethe goals of the course, and be prepared for the student reports.

Address all correspondence concerning the course to yourICI instructor at the address stamped on the copyright page ofthis study guide.

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Worship is praise to God. Worship is service to God. Wewant to introduce you to a new life of prayer and worship.Therefore, we will introduce you to a new kind of living. Atfirst, it may appear that we are talking about everything elseexcept praying and worshiping. But as you study topics such asthe existence of God, the reality of heaven, and the kingdom ofGod, you will begin to see the relationship between prayer andworship and life in general. It may seem that we have strayedfrom our subject.

However, a close look at the prayer that Jesus taught Hisdisciples when they asked Him “how” to pray will let you seethat He wove all these things into His prayer. It was as if Jesuswas saying, “You cannot separate prayer and worship fromliving. You cannot say of prayer, ‘Now I have finished . . . now Iwill return to my work’.”

This is the great lesson we must learn from Jesus aboutpraying. Prayer is never finished. It does not end with an“amen.” It is an unending activity, woven into every part of ourlives. It is the way we think, and it cannot be separated fromanything that we do.

So, time, place, and words of worship are not what we talkabout in this book. Rather, we present prayer as the preparationfor worship, and worship as constant living in a way that pleasesGod and fulfills His purposes.

Prayer and Worship6

Course Description

This course is a study on prayer and worship with emphasis onthe priority of God’s glory and God’s kingdom over man’s needsand wants. It also emphasizes the fact that the things needed will beprovided for the believer who honors this priority.

The study is based on Matthew 6:5-13, but the key versecontaining the central truth is Matthew 6:33, “Instead, be concernedabove everything else with the Kingdom of God and with what herequires of you, and he will provide you with all these other things.”

It starts with the believer’s position as a son of God. Becausehe is a son, he can approach his Father’s throne with confidencethat his prayer will be heard.

As a member of God’s family, he has family interests atheart and gives priority to his Father’s name, kingdom, and willin everything he does. This attitude is reflected in his praying.

Having placed his Father’s will above his own, he makesknown his personal petitions with the confidence that, before heasks, his Father knows he has need of “all these things.”

Particular emphasis will be upon prayer and worship as itrelates to Christian service. While the material will beappropriate for your spiritual growth and edification, it isoutlined in such a way as to provide a tool for Bible study. Itshould, therefore, serve a two-fold purpose. It can be a guide foryour own personal devotion, and it can also enhance youreffectiveness in communicating God’s Word.

Course Objectives

When you finish this course you should be able to:

1. Experience for yourself that God is loving, knowable, anddesirous of communicating with you, and being worshipedby you.

2. Use prayer and worship as a path to understanding the planof God to restore men to fellowship, and a way to make themHis sons in the family of heaven.

Course Introduction 7

3. Explain why the worship of God, God’s kingdom, and theplan of God must have priority in prayer.

4. Pray according to God’s will when seeking your livelihood, apeaceful co-existence with those around you, an overcominglife, and deliverance from evils that overtake you.

5. Establish habits of prayer and worship that will make youChrist-like and an effective witness, able to teach others whoare seeking a life of prayer and worship.

6. Persuade others that God exists, loves them, wants to savethem, and rewards those who worship Him above all else.

Textbooks

You will use Prayer and Worship: An Independent-StudyTextbook by Morris Williams as both the textbook and studyguide for the course. The Bible (Today’s English Version) is theonly other textbook required.

Study Time

How much time you actually need to study each lessondepends in part on your knowledge of the subject and thestrength of your study skills before you begin the course. Thetime you spend also depends on the extent to which you followdirections and develop skills necessary for independent study.Plan your study schedule so that you spend enough time to reachthe objectives stated by the author of the course and yourpersonal objectives as well.

Lesson Organization and Study Pattern

Each lesson includes: 1) lesson title, 2) opening statement, 3)lesson outline, 4) lesson objectives, 5) learning activities, 6) keywords, 7) lesson development including study questions, 8) self-test (at the end of the lesson development), 9) answers to thestudy questions.

The lesson outline and objectives will give you an overview ofthe subject, help you to focus your attention on the most importantpoints as you study, and tell you what you should learn.

Prayer and Worship8

Most of the study questions in the lesson development can beanswered in spaces provided in this study guide. Longer answersshould be written in a notebook. As you write the answers in yournotebook, be sure to record the number and title of the lesson.This will help you in your review for the unit student report.

Do not look ahead at the answers until you have given youranswer. If you give your own answers, you will remember whatyou study much better. After you have answered the studyquestions, check your answers with those given at the end of thelesson. Then correct those you did not answer correctly. Theanswers are not given in the usual numerical order so that youwill not accidentally see the answer to the next question.

These study questions are very important. They will help youto remember the main ideas presented in the lesson and to applythe principles you have learned.

How to Answer Questions

There are different kinds of study questions and self-testquestions in this study guide. Below are samples of several typesand how to answer them. Specific instructions will be given forother types of questions that may occur.

A MULTIPLE-CHOICE question or item asks you to choosean answer from the ones that are given.

Example

1 The Bible has a total ofa) 100 books.b) 66 books.c) 27 books.

The correct answer is b) 66 books. In your study guide, makea circle around b) as shown here:

1 The Bible has a total ofa) 100 books.b) 66 books.c) 27 books.


(For some multiple-choice items, more than one answer willbe correct. In that case, you would circle the letter in front ofeach correct answer.)

A TRUE-FALSE question or item asks you to choose whichof several statements are TRUE.

Example

2 Which statements below are TRUE?a The Bible has a total of 120 books.b The Bible is a message for believers today.c All of the Bible authors wrote in the Hebrew language.d The Holy Spirit inspired the writers of the Bible.

Statements b and d are true. You would make a circle aroundthese two letters to show your choices, as you see above.

A MATCHING question or item asks you to match thingsthat go together, such as names with descriptions, or Bible bookswith their authors.

Example

3 Write the number for the leader's name in front of eachphrase that describes something he did.

. . . . a Received the Law at Mt. Sinai

. . . . b Led the Israelites across Jordan

. . . . c Marched around Jericho

. . . . d Lived in Pharaoh's court

1) Moses2) Joshua

Phrases a and d refer to Moses, and phrases b and c refer toJoshua. You would write 1 beside a and d, and 2 beside b and c,as you see above.

Ways to Study this Course

If you study this ICI course by yourself, all of your work can becompleted by mail. Although ICI has designed this course for you tostudy on your own, you may also study it in a group or class. If youdo this, the instructor may give you added instructions besides thosein the course. If so, be sure to follow his instructions.

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Prayer and Worship10

Possibly you are interested in using the course in a homeBible study group, in a class at church, or in a Bible school. Youwill find both the subject content and study methods excellentfor these purposes.

Unit Student Reports

At the end of the book you will find the Unit Student Reportand Answer Sheets. Follow the directions included in the courseand in the unit student reports. You should complete and sendyour answer sheets to your instructor for his correction andsuggestions regarding your work. If you are not studying with anICI office you will still benefit by answering the questions in theStudent Report.

Certificate

Upon the successful completion of the course and the finalgrading of the unit student reports by your ICI instructor, youwill receive your Certificate of Award.

Author of the Course

Morris Williams was the Field Director for Africa of theDivision of Foreign Missions of the General Council of theAssemblies of God, U.S.A.

Prior to this appointment, he and his wife served asmissionaries for the Assemblies of God in Central and SouthernAfrica for 25 years. His work covered a wide range of ministriesincluding evangelism, church planting, Bible Schooladministration, and counseling.

Mr. Williams comes from a family of seven children—allinvolved in the Assemblies of God ministry today. The positionon prayer and worship that he takes in this independent-studytextbook is a direct result of the influence of his godly parents.They not only set an example in prayer but demonstrated to theirfamily by their lifestyle what it means to “pray without ceasing.”

After high school, Mr. Williams attended North CentralBible College in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He began his ministryin Iowa where, after pastoring a number of years, he was chosen


as youth and Sunday school director for the Iowa District.Shortly thereafter, the Williamses volunteered for the missionfield and were appointed to Africa in the year 1946.

Your ICI Instructor

Your ICI instructor will be happy to help you in any waypossible. If you have any questions about the course or the unitstudent reports, please feel free to ask him. If several peoplewant to study this course together, ask about specialarrangements for group study.

God bless you as you begin to study Prayer and Worship.May it enrich your life and Christian service and help you fulfillmore effectively your part in the body of Christ.

Additional Helps

Other materials are available for use with this individualstudy textbook, including supplemental audio cassettes, videocassettes, an Instructor’s Guide, and an Instructor’s Packet (forinstructor’s use only). Consult the Evangelism, Discipleship,and Training Manual.

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“This, then, is how you should pray”Matthew 6:9

To whom we pray is more important than how or where wepray. Wouldn’t it be terrible if we learned all there is to knowabout how to pray, and then found that we had been praying tothe wrong one?

How we pray, though, is more important than where wepray. If we pray to the right One, and pray in the right way, itdoes not make much difference whether we are inside abuilding, walking, or working. What is inside of us is moreimportant than what is outside of us!

So, in this lesson we are going to talk about the true God,and how to pray to Him. We are going to study the things thatare important to God so that we can pray according to His will.We want to learn how our talk in prayer can affect our walk inlife. We have so much to learn!

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lesson outlineFalse Concepts of God

The “No God” ManThe “Cannot Know for Sure” ManThe “Do Not Want God” ManThe “Nature Is God” ManThe “I Am God” ManThe “Any God Will Do” ManThe “Ancestral Spirits” Man

The Self-Revealing GodRevealed by His Written WordRevealed by His Living SonRevealed by His Holy Spirit

Christ’s Teaching on PrayerSecret and Simple PrayingPraying Always

lesson objectives

When you finish this lesson you should be able to:

• Discuss false concepts people have about God and how theseconcepts affect their worship.

• Identify the ways by which the true God has revealedHimself.


• Summarize what Jesus had to say about prayer, and applythese principles to your life.

learning activities

1. Memorize all the verses in Matthew 6:5-8.

2. Read the lesson development section by section. Write theanswers to the study questions in each section. The studyquestions in this lesson will include some multiple choicequestions. To indicate your choice of the best possibleanswer, circle the letter preceding the one you have chosen.

3. Take the self-test at the end of the lesson, and check youranswers with those given at the back of the book. You mayuse your Bible when verses are referred to that you were notasked to memorize.

4. After you have finished the lesson development, look backover the lesson objectives to make sure you can do what issuggested there.

5. Start to keep a notebook. Write the longer answers to thestudy questions in it. You might want to write any newwords and their definitions in it also.

key words

Understanding the key words we have listed at the beginningof each lesson will help you as you study. You will find keywords listed in alphabetical order and defined in the glossary atthe back of this independent-study textbook. If you are in doubtabout the meaning of any of the words on the list, you may lookthem up now or when you come across them in your reading.Please take time to learn the definitions of any new words, sincethey are important to a complete understanding of this course.

agnostics interpreted prioritiesancestral spirits meditation reprobatesanimism nature tonguesatheists pantheists universalistsegotists petition

Praying to Whom? 17

lesson development

FALSE CONCEPTS OF GOD

Objective 1. Define seven false concepts about God.

The “No God” Man

Let us start our study about prayer and worship by saying thatpeople who worship must have someone (or something) to whichthey pray. You cannot worship if there is nothing to worship. Somepeople claim there is no God and that, therefore, there is nothing toworship. “No use to pray,” they say, “because there is no one tolisten!” We call these people atheists because they do not believethat God exists. Foolish people! They cannot see the proof of Godeven when it is before their eyes. The exact order of the universe,the beauty of the flowers, and our wonderful human body—allspeak with one voice saying, “There is a Creator-God.” It would beas reasonable to look at a watch and say it made itself as it would beto say that the world came into being without a Creator.

Mark your choice of the best answer by circling the letter tothe left of the one you have chosen.

1 The atheist does not pray becausea) he does not believe there is a God.b) he is not sure if there is a God.c) he doesn’t want to obey God.

The “Cannot Know for Sure” Man

Some people are troubled because they cannot see God. Theysee what He created, and they believe there must be a cause forcreation. But they doubt and say, “We cannot be sure. Perhapsthere is, and perhaps there is not a God.” We call these peopleagnostics because they believe that even if there is a God, mancannot know Him. “Why pray,” they say, “when you are notsure there is anyone there to hear?”

The “Do Not Want God” Man

There are many, many people who are aware of the fact thatGod exists, but do not want to obey Him. We call them


reprobates because they refuse to accept that which they know.Reprobates do not pray either, since they “love the darknessrather than the light, because their deeds are evil” (John 3:19).But the day will come when reprobates will pray. They will prayfor the rocks to fall on them to hide them “from the eyes of theone who sits on the throne” (Revelation 6:16). It will be a day ofwrath and judgment.

2 Why do reprobates not pray?

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The “Nature Is God” Man

Many people believe that God and nature are one. They donot believe in a Creator-God who is separate from His creation.These people say that trees are God; clouds are God; man isGod. We call such people pantheists. They say that everythinggood is God. How wrong they are! To them, nature is God. Tothem, God is impersonal. The pantheist’s God is faceless! Youcannot pray to him for he has no ears! He cannot answer you forhe has no voice! He cannot see you because he has no eyes! Hecannot love you because he has no heart! What kind of a God isthat? You see, it is one thing to say that God is love, and it isquite another thing to say that love is God. Also, it is one thingto say that God is in His creation, and it is quite another thing tosay that the creation is God!

3 Name four things that the god of pantheists cannot do.

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The “I Am God” Man

These are the people who will tell you that every person has aright to believe what he pleases, and that one person’s idea is asgood as that of another. Let us call these people egotists becausethey see no god except themselves. They do not want anyone elseto tell them what to do. The egotists accept no standards ofbehavior they do not like. Good to them is what is good forthemselves. They do not pray. Why should they? They want noauthority higher than their own idea of what is good and bad.

Praying to Whom? 19

4 What are the standards of the egotist based upon?

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The “Any God Will Do” Man

There are many people of this kind. “It doesn’t matter whatGod you worship. One is just as good as the other. Any God willdo.” These are the people we call universalists. They believethat religions are like paths that lead to the top of a mountain.Each religion takes a different route, but they all get to the top.This is a dangerous and an evil teaching. Those who believe itare really saying that God is an idea in man’s mind, and is not areality. Yet, God is not an idea. He is real. He is one God. He isthe Creator of the world and of everything in it. We must findout who He is. We must worship Him. We will talk about whoHe is in the next section. But before we do, let us talk about oneother belief that is held by people all over the world.

5 What do we call the “Any God Will Do” Man?

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The “Ancestral Spirits” Man

Most people believe in life after death. However, because thedead are no longer seen after they leave us, there is a mysteryabout them. Some people believe the dead come back as spirits,which move about in the area where they once lived. They thinkthese spirits take part in the activities of the living. This belief iscalled animism.

Because of the unknown, and because of the terror of theunseen, there is much fear among animists. While many of thembelieve there is a God, they think that He is too far away and istoo indifferent to their needs to be of help to them. Therefore,their worship takes the form of gifts intended to please andpetition the spirits which they believe are near them. Charms areused to keep trouble away, and sacrifices are made to gain thefavor of the spirits of the dead. The Bible says, “Fear has to dowith punishment” (1 John 4:18), and this is the feeling of theanimist. That same verse says that “perfect love drives out allfear.” We now want to talk about the true God of love who is


near to all them that call upon Him. He has power to answerprayer and cast out fear.

6 Why does the “Ancestral Spirit” Man use charms andsacrifices?

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THE SELF-REVEALING GOD

Objective 2. Write three ways in which the true God has revealedHimself to man.

Revealed by His Written Word

A God who requires man to worship and to obey Him mustreveal Himself to man. This is exactly what the true God hasdone. He has revealed Himself. We can know Him. We can alsoknow His will.

Each religion points to its prophets, its visions, its miracles,and the writings of its teachers. The true God has given us all ofthese things and has done even more to make Himself known.He has revealed Himself and His will by speaking to us in thethree ways symbolized in the illustrations below.

God has revealed Himself through prophets and apostles whohave written His words in the sacred book called the Bible. Menhave been changed wherever the Bible has been believed andaccepted as God’s Word. Whenever a man will accept theteachings of Jesus, and will acknowledge Him to be the Son of

Praying to Whom? 21

God, a miracle takes place in that man’s life. He becomes a newperson! He leaves his evil ways to follow that which is good.Consider the unity of the Bible’s message—a message writtenby many different men at different times and in different places.Add to this the record of the Bible’s survival despite efforts todestroy and discredit it. Without doubt, the Bible is a miraclebook. It is a book that reveals God to us.

7 Whom did God use to record His words in the Bible?

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Revealed by His Living Son

God revealed Himself through Jesus Christ, His Son. Jesuslived more than 30 years on this earth as a man. “The Wordbecame a human being and . . . lived among us” (John 1:14).Think of the claim of Jesus Christ. He said that He was God’sSon. He backed His claim by His miraculous ministry of healingand power. Think of the death and resurrection of Jesus. God hascertainly revealed Himself through His Son. God revealedHimself through Jesus’ personal appearance on this earth.

8 Who is the Word through whom God reveals Himself?

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Revealed by His Holy Spirit

God reveals Himself also by His Spirit at any time, to anyman who will accept the truth about Jesus Christ. “God’s Spiritjoins himself to our spirits to declare that we are God’s children”(Romans 8:16). The Spirit of God makes every man whobelieves a new person. What God has done for others, He willdo for you. If you will put your faith in Him, He will revealHimself to you by His Spirit. Worship the true God! Pray and letGod’s Spirit bear witness with yours! When you have felt Hispower in your own life, there will be nothing more to prove.You will know who the true God is!

9 What is another way God makes known to you that you areHis child?

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CHRIST’S TEACHING ON PRAYER

Objective 3. Explain the priorities in the prayer Jesus taught Hisdisciples.

Secret and Simple Praying

The disciples said to Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke11:1). We can learn best how to pray from the One who praysbest. Therefore, let us allow Jesus to be our teacher.

Jesus told His disciples not to pray like the Pharisees(Matthew 6:5). They prayed in the synagogues and in thecorners of the streets. Is it wrong to pray in public? Of coursenot! Jesus did not rebuke the Pharisees for praying in public. Herebuked them for praying just to be seen of men. Praying inpublic is not wrong. Jesus prayed in public. It is praying to beseen of men that is wrong!

10 Look up Matthew 6:5-6 in your Bible. What will God do forthose who pray in secret?

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There are many occasions when it is right and proper for oneperson to speak for a group of people in public prayer. This is,perhaps, the most difficult kind of praying, because attention isfocused on the one who prays. Often the people think more aboutthe person who is praying than they do about God, to whom he ispraying. This can cause a great temptation to come to the one who

Praying to Whom? 23

prays. He may be tempted to do what the Pharisees did. He maybe tempted to pray to be seen and heard of men.

11 Circle the letter to the left of the best answer.The Lord told His disciples not to be like the Pharisees becausethe Pharisees prayeda) in public.b) long prayers.c) to be seen of men.

There are those who can lead a group of people into the verypresence of God. They are able to direct the people’s mindstoward the Lord. How we need this kind of prayer leaders!Ministers, especially, should develop this gift.

How can we learn to lead in public prayers without thinkingabout ourselves or the other people? This is not learned by“practicing” in public. It is learned by praying in private. It isalso learned when we are alone with God, and His Spirit teachesus to put everything out of our minds except the Lord. Then,when we stand in public, it will be as though we are still inprivate. Even though we know the people are listening, ourthoughts are only on what we are saying to Jesus. We are alonewith God in the midst of people.

12 How can we learn to pray in public?

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Spirit-filled people often pray together. This is a way bywhich each believer can shut himself in with God even while heis in a group of people. When people pray together, it is abeautiful experience. Many times, when praying together, theSpirit of God will be felt by the people, and there will bepraising and speaking in tongues. By tongues we mean worshipin the Spirit in a language given by God which no oneunderstands unless it is interpreted. This is a spiritual gift thatyou can read about in 1 Corinthians 14. It is a gift for thebeliever who has faith to receive it and it is a great help inworshiping. When this happens, everyone is blessed and God isglorified.


What about praying in private?Jesus said for us to go into ourroom and close the door. He saidthat our Father who sees what wedo in private will reward usopenly (Matthew 6:6). Jesus wasreferring to a state of mind morethan to a room with a door whenHe said these words. What isimportant is that we get alone withGod. You can be alone with Godwherever you are. Some people pray best when they are walkingin the forest. Some prefer a room away from other people. Someare able to be “alone” even when there are others about them.The important thing is to be alone with God.

13 What important lesson was Jesus teaching when he said thatwe should go into our room and shut the door when we pray?

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We should remember that prayer is talking with God. Whenyou are visiting with someone, it is important that each one has achance to talk. Some of our praying is not at all like talkingtogether. It sounds like we are preaching to God! Such prayingis very poor praying. Who likes to visit with a person who doesall the talking? We like to get away from such people as quicklyas possible. We don’t enjoy talking to them. It must be that theLord often wishes that He could say something to us, but we donot give Him a chance to speak! It is much more important forus to listen to God than for God to listen to us. What can we tellHim that He does not alreadyknow? But, oh, there is so muchfor us to learn . . . if we wouldonly listen!

How can we listen to God?How does God talk to us? Oneexcellent way to listen to God is topray with God’s Word before us.

Praying to Whom? 25

If we will read a verse and then ask God to show us what itmeans, God will bring the meaning to our minds.

That is God talking to us. The Holy Spirit will be our teacher—leading us into all truth. When the Spirit makes a truth real to us,then is the time for us to worship God and thank Him for the truthHe has taught us. We can then continue to read until God speaksonce more from His Word. What a wonderful way to pray!

14 What is a good way to hear what God wants to say to uswhen we pray?

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Remember what Jesus said about “meaningless words”(Matthew 6:7). God is not deaf. He is not indifferent and doesnot have to be persuaded. Since He is a God of love, we onlyhave to mention our petitions and trust Him to answer.Sometimes we show our lack of faith by asking over and overagain as though God hadn’t heard us the first time we asked.Other times we act as if we believe He has to be persuaded. Godis a God of love. He is not hard-hearted or selfish. He wants tohelp us!

15 Circle the letter on the left of each TRUE statement.a) God wants to answer our prayers.b) God does not answer some of our prayers because He is

selfish.c) It is necessary for our prayers to be lengthy.d) God wants us to pray with confidence and trust in Him.

Praying Always

Objective 4. Explain the meaning of “praying always.”

We are told to “pray always for all God’s people” (Ephesians6:18). In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 we read, “Pray at all times.” Howcan a person pray at all times? How can he pray always?

It is plain to see that prayer is more than kneeling down. It ismore than time spent in meditation, in acts of worship, and inpetitions. Prayer is to be “always.” It is to be “at all times.” Itmust then, of necessity, be an attitude or way of life.


Now, such an attitude or way of life cannot be accomplishedwithout private and public prayer and worship. Attitudes andhabits are formed by doing things over and over again. This istrue of prayer. You cannot pray “at all times” unless you make ahabit of prayer.

Yet, our prayer life must not be measured in terms of time. Itmust be measured by the quality of our praying. Many times ourminds are at home while our bodies are in church. Or, our mindsare in the kitchen when our knees are bent in prayer. If we learnto pray right, we will be able to walk right all of the time. This iswhat we mean by “praying always.” So, we should learn God’swill from His Word, submitting ourselves to Him in prayer andworship until we can walk every hour of every day according toHis plan for our life.

16 Why is it not best to measure prayer in terms of time?

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Jesus is our example of prayer. He spent long hours inprayer. He fasted. To what purpose? To secure answers to Hisown desires? To secure deliverance for those who wereafflicted? Not at all! His prayers for the sick were short andsimple. Why? Because His whole life was one of prayer andworship. By seeking His Father’s will in prayer, He was able towalk constantly according to that will. He prayed at all times!

17 Why didn’t Jesus have to pray long prayers for thedeliverance of the sick?

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How can we pray according to God’s will? Jesus teaches ushow in Matthew 6:9-13. He said, “This, then, is how you shouldpray” (Matthew 6:9). When Jesus was talking about how to pray,He was talking about the order in which we ask for things. Hewas talking about seeking the most important things first. Noticethe order of asking in the prayer that He taught. First, He talkedabout your name, your kingdom, and your will. After that, Heprayed, “Give us, forgive us, bring us, and keep us.” In otherwords, what Jesus was saying was that when we pray we must

Praying to Whom? 27

give priority to God’s name, God’s kingdom, and God’s will. Tostart our prayers with “Give us, forgive us, bring us, and keepus” is the wrong order of asking. Jesus said it so clearly inMatthew 6:33, “Be concerned above everything else with theKingdom of God and with what he requires of you, and he willprovide you with all these other things.”

18 Priorities in prayer are the ............................ of God, the

............................ of God, and the ............................ of God.

When we learn how to pray as Jesus taught, we will learn tolive as Jesus lived. When we are concerned about the kingdomof God above everything else, we will be praying at all times!

As long as our wants are more important to us than God’swill, we will stumble along, measuring the hours we spend inprayer. Yet, God does not hold a watch in His hand to see howlong we stay in the prayer room. God is seeking to be the Lordof our life every moment of every day!

19 Four of the things that God has promised to provide, if wewill be concerned with the kingdom of God, are: (See Matthew6:9-13.)

a .................................................................................................

b .................................................................................................

c .................................................................................................

d .................................................................................................


self-test

After you have reviewed this lesson, take the self-test. Thencheck your answers with those given in your student report.Review any questions you answered incorrectly.

SHORT ANSWER. Write the correct answer in the spaceprovided.

1 Why do agnostics not pray? ....................................................

2 Write the words in 1 John 4:18 that can give hope to the“Ancestral Spirits” Man.

.......................................................................................................

3 What evidence of God is seen in a man’s life when heaccepts the teachings of Christ and acknowledges Him to be theSon of God?

.......................................................................................................

4 Write the request of the disciples in Luke 11:1.

.......................................................................................................

5 Why is praying in public difficult?

.......................................................................................................

6 Name three ways in which God has revealed Himself.

a Revealed by His ......................................................................

b Revealed by His ......................................................................

c Revealed by His ......................................................................

7 Prayer without ceasing is learning to ............................ right

so that we can ............................ right. This means that we

always seek God’s ............................ above our own will.

Praying to Whom? 29

MULTIPLE CHOICE. There is only one correct answer for eachquestion. Circle the letter of the correct answer.

8 The pantheist would say thata) God loves all men.b) nature is God.c) God is a good God.

9 What can we do so that we hear the voice of God?a) Spend a lot of time asking God to supply our needs.b) Read God’s Word often, meditate upon it, and ask God to

help us understand it.c) Repeat the Lord’s prayer over and over again.

10 A person who prays without ceasing isa) always on his knees in prayer.b) always thinking about God.c) always seeking God’s kingdom above everything else.

MATCHING. Match each name (right) to the statement (left)which best describes it.

. . . . a The “Do Not Want God” Man

. . . . b The “Ancestral Spirits” Man

. . . . c The “Cannot Know For Sure” Man

. . . . d The “Any God” Man

. . . . e The “No God” Man

. . . . f The “I Am God” Man

. . . . g The “Nature is God” Man

1) Atheist2) Agnostic3) Pantheist4) Egotist5) Reprobate6) Universalist7) Animist


answers to the study questions

These answers have been mixed so that you will notaccidentally see the answer to the next question before you writeyour own response. Please do not look ahead, but write yourown answer to each question before comparing it with the onewe have given. This will help you to remember what you havestudied.

10 Reward them openly.

1 a) he does not believe there is a God.

11 c) to be seen of men.

2 Because they love darkness rather than light.

12 We can learn to pray in public by learning first to pray inprivate.

3 He cannot answer, love, hear, or see. (Any order.)

13 That we need to spend time alone with God in prayer.

4 His own idea of right and wrong.

14 To pray with God’s Word before us, asking Him to help usunderstand it.

5 A universalist.

15 a True.b False.c False.d True.

6 Because he fears the spirits of the dead.

16 Because our mind is not always on our praying when we areon our knees.

7 The prophets and apostles.

Praying to Whom? 31

17 Because He prayed without ceasing, by walking constantlyin God’s will.

8 Jesus Christ.

18 name, kingdom, will

9 God’s Spirit joins Himself to our spirit to declare that we areHis children.

19 a Food.b Forgiveness.c No hard testing.d To keep us from the evil one.

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“Our Father”Matthew 6:9

Prayer must begin with an understanding of who we are. Paultells us in Romans 12:3, “Do not think of yourself more highlythan you should.” This is good advice. The “I Am God” Manmakes himself king of everything. He doesn’t feel that he needsto pray. However, if we who believe in God and love Him reallyunderstand that we are sons of God, it will give us confidencewhen we pray.

“The Spirit that God has given you does not make youslaves and cause you to be afraid; instead, the Spiritmakes you God’s children, and by the Spirit’s power wecry out to God, ‘Father! my Father!’” (Romans 8:15).

What a wonderful thing it is to be a son of God! What awonderful thing to belong to a big family in which our brothersand sisters are believers of every race, nation, and tribe! What awonderful thing to know that our Father loves us, and providesfor all our needs!

So, we can come boldly to our Father in prayer. We should,of course, come respectfully and humbly. But there is no need tofear. We know our Father loves us!

33

lesson outlineThe Father of Sons

Faith That SavesFaith That Keeps

The Fraternity of SonsThe Old View is GoneThe New View Has Come

The Function of SonsWinning of MenWorship of God

lesson objectivesWhen you finish this lesson you should be able to:

• Understand the importance of prayer in the Christian life andwalk.

• State how the basic principle of 2 Corinthians 5:16-17 affectsthe life and worship of a child of God.

• Determine the most important function of sons of God.


learning activities1. Read Romans 8:12-17 and memorize verse 15.

2. Think of someone who is not part of the family of God andpray for him, calling him by name in prayer.

3. Read the key word list.

4. Do the lesson development section by section. For multiple-choice questions circle the letter preceding the responsewhich you consider to be the best choice. For each true-falsequestion, circle the letter preceding the statement.

5. After you have finished the lesson development, look backover the lesson objectives to make sure you can do what issuggested there.

key wordsbeliever prejudiceculture renouncefraternity repentfunction unbeliever

lesson development

THE FATHER OF SONS

Objective 1. Discuss the importance of prayer at the time ofsalvation and in our Christian life and walk.

Our Father! What meaning there is in those words! Godcreated man. At once a warm pleasant feeling comes as we thinkabout God’s plan that He has had from the beginning of theworld.

God is a God of love. Love cannot stand alone. It must beshared with another, or it isn’t real love. That is why God createdman in His own image. God made a garden and put man in it.Every evening God and man would walk and talk together. Itwas wonderful. God wanted to share His love with man. He alsowanted to receive love from man. But He wanted man to loveHim willingly, so He gave man the power to choose. We call this“free-will.”

A Family Relationship 35

Then sin came. Satan tempted Adam and Eve. Theybelieved his lie about God, and disobeyed the Lord’scommand. The fellowship was broken. Sin came between Godand man. There was no longer a way to share their love. Manwas put out of the garden. He was taught to offer bloodsacrifices until the Savior would come who would take awaythe sin of the world.

1 What stopped the fellowship of God with man?

.......................................................................................................

The main purpose for worship in those days was the needto make sacrifice for sin. Man’s relationship with God wasbased upon obedience to the Law.

Then the prophets came and told of a Savior who wouldcome. His name would be “God with us” (Immanuel). Hewould take away sin, then man would once again walk andtalk with God. The Savior would make it possible for man toworship God in Spirit and in truth.

2 What was the main purpose of man’s worship before Jesuscame?

.......................................................................................................

So Jesus came. He lived a sinless life on earth. When wickedmen crucified Him, He became the “Lamb” of God. He became the“sacrifice” on which the sins of all men were laid. He became sinfor us. He paid the penalty of sin which is death. He died, and theylaid Him in a grave. But because He had done no sin, death could


not hold Him. He rose from the grave. He conquered sin and death.Then, He told His disciples to spread the good news. They were totell all men that love between God and man could once more beshared. God and man could once again walk together!

3 Who paid the penalty of sin for us?

.......................................................................................................

Faith That Saves

How can this happen to you? The Bible says that if you willconfess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in yourheart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved!(Romans 10:9). Praise God! Think of it! If you will believe andcall upon Him, you will be saved! But, first you must call.

“Whoever believes in him will not be disappointed. Thisincludes everyone, because there is no difference betweenJews and Gentiles; God is the same Lord of all and richlyblesses all who call to him. As the Scripture says,‘Everyone who calls out to the Lord for help will besaved’” (Romans 10:11-13).

4 Circle the letter to the left of the best answer.Men become sons of God bya) passing the test for new believers.b) ceasing to do their sinful deeds.c) believing in the living Son of God and confessing Him as

Savior.

Salvation starts with prayer. It comes to those who call out tothe Lord for help. It starts when you confess your sins to theLord and repent. Salvation starts when you believe that Jesus isthe Savior, the Son of God who rose from the dead. It startswhen you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart. Itstarts when you pray the prayer of faith! Hallelujah!

5 What is the function of prayer at the time of salvation?

.......................................................................................................

Note that Romans 10:12 says, “This includes everyone . . .”God is no respecter of persons. He wants everybody to be saved.He wants everybody to call upon Him. God wants everybody topray the prayer of faith!


We need to discuss more of God’s plan here. It did not end atthe cross or at the resurrection. That was only the first part. Yousee, Christ’s death and resurrection make it possible for all whobelieve to become the sons of God. “Some, however, did receivehim and believed in him; so he gave them the right to becomeGod’s children” (John 1:12). Sons of God! That is what the planis all about! God wants children who will love Him and call Him“Father! My Father!”

6 Read John 1:12. What right does God give to those whoreceive Jesus?

.......................................................................................................

What God wanted in the beginning, He wants today. Hewants to share His love with man. He wants to have fellowshipwith man. That’s what makes worship so important. God wantssons who worship Him and love Him. Only sons of God canworship God. Only those who believe on Him can pray theprayer of faith. So prayer starts with confessing and believing,and leads to worship of God, our Father.

7 Circle the letter preceding each TRUE statement.a We can have salvation without Jesus.b God hates sinners.c Anyone can be a son of God.d Only sons of God can worship God.

At the end of this world, all who have believed and are sons ofGod will be gathered together in heaven. A loud voice willproclaim, “Now God’s home is with mankind! He will live withthem, and they shall be his people. God himself will be with them,and he will be their God” (Revelation 21:3). That’s it! That is theplan God has had from the beginning. That is the plan that hasalready started for those who believe. All who call upon Him infaith can begin to fellowship with God right away. They can talktogether with Him in prayer and worship. They can share the loveof God right on this earth. They don’t have to wait until they get toheaven!

Faith That Keeps

A wonderful thing about God’s love is that it never fails. Heloved us when we were yet sinners, but He could not havefellowship with us because we did not love Him. But when webelieve that Jesus is God’s Son who died for us and rose again,then we can once more share love with God. We can once more


worship Him and talk with Him. Faith makes it possible for us tobe sons of God. As long as we keep our faith in Him, nothingcan break the love between us.

8 Fellowship between God and man is restored bya) man trying his very best to be good.b) man offering blood sacrifices for his sins.c) man receiving Jesus Christ as his Savior.

Of course, if we renounce our faith in Him it will break thefellowship we have with Him. Love must be given willingly.God willingly gives His love to us, but if we cease to believe inHim, our love for Him will be gone. Fellowship with God will begone.

We are saved by faith and we are kept by faith. If we keepour faith, we keep our salvation. If we forsake our faith, then thebasis of our relationship with God is gone. When faith goes, ourlove for God leaves us and we are sinners and unbelievers onceagain.

9 A believer loses his salvation when hea) ceases to have faith in Jesus Christ.b) commits a sinful act.c) leaves his church and joins another.

It is by prayer that we call upon God to be saved. It is byprayer that love is restored once again between us and God. Andit is by prayer that we keep alive our fellowship with God. Lovemust be shared, and when we stop sharing our love with God,our relationship with God dies. But by prayer and worship, ourfaith and love remain strong.

THE FRATERNITY OF SONS

Objective 2. Explain the meaning of 2 Corinthians 5:16-17, and tellhow it affects a child of God.

The title of this section is “The Fraternity of Sons.”Fraternity means “brotherliness” or the “the state of beingbrothers.”

What makes it possible for believers to be brothers? This ispossible by having the same “Father,” of course! The day werepented of our sins and confessed Christ to be our Savior, thatday we became sons of God and a member of a fraternity ofbrothers!


All who are sons of one father are brothers. When we say“Our Father” we are confessing that all His children are ourbrothers. “Those whom God had already chosen he also set apartto become like his Son, so that the Son would be the first amongmany brothers” (Romans 8:29). Think of it! All true believersare our brothers and sisters. God’s plan from the beginning hasbeen that He might be the Father of “many brothers” amongwhom Christ is the “Elder Brother.”

10 Circle the letter before the TRUE statement.a) All men are our brothers.b) If God is our Father, then Jesus is our “Elder Brother.”c) We become a son of God by being good.d) God does not want to become our Father.

The Old View Is Gone

God divides men into two groups. Only two! Those who areof His family and those who are not of His family. God does notlook upon the world as men do. He does not say, “That is anIndian, that is an African, that is a white man, that is a blackman, that is a rich man, that is a poor man, that is an educatedman, and that is an uneducated man.” Not at all! This is how theworld classifies men. But God does not judge by humanstandards. He only sees two groups—those who are His children,and those who are not. So He looks at men and says, “That one ismy child. That one is also my child. But that one is not mychild.” We are the ones, though, who make the choice.

11 In God’s eyes there are only two kinds of people. What arethey?

.......................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................

We should look at people as God looks at them. There is noroom for prejudice in the family of God. The world divides meninto nations, races, tribes, and cultures. We should see only twogroups—those who are our brothers and sisters, and those whoare not.

12 Circle the letter to the left of each TRUE statement.a God loves all men.b All men are God’s creation.c All men are sons of God.d All men are brothers.


The New View Has Come

You say, “How can this be? We can’t all be alike in thefamily of God.” That is true, and God never intended to removethe things that make people different from each other. What Godwants to do is to fill our hearts with His love until the differencesmake no difference!

The American will continue to be an American. The Indianwill remain an Indian. The black will remain black, and the whiteman white. God does not ask us to change our nationality, race, ortribe. He does make it possible for different kinds of people to livetogether in love and peace. How can this be? By being a family—a family united by the Holy Spirit and by prayer. It is a true sayingthat the family that prays together stays together. It is true in asingle family of two parents with their children. It is also true ofthe world-wide family of God which is made up of many racesand nations. Prayer changes things!

13 When 2 Corinthians 5:16 says that we should not judge byhuman standards, it means we shoulda) not expect different kinds of people to live together in peace.b) try to remove the differences that divide men.c) accept believers as brothers despite our differences.

Many are not sons of God because they refuse to believe inChrist as their Savior. They cannot pray to God and say, “OurFather.” Neither are they brothers of those who believe. When abeliever meets a man who is an unbeliever, he cannot call him“brother.” Why? Because he does not have the same Father, andhe is not one of the family. Jesus told those who refused tobelieve in Him, “You are the children of your father, the Devil”(John 8:44).

On the other hand, if a believer meets another believer, evenif he is of a different race or nationality, he immediately feels alove for him because he is a brother. He is a member of his ownfamily. For the child of God, the thing that separates him fromother men is not race or nationality, but rather the fact that theyare unbelievers. He cannot feel “at home” with them.

14 What separates the child of God from other men?

.......................................................................................................


THE FUNCTION OF SONS

Objective 3. State the function and responsibilities of sons of God inworship and service.

Winning of Men

What do sons of God do while on earth? Why does God keepthem here? There is a good reason. The family is not yetcomplete. God is not willing that any should perish. He wantseverybody to be a part of His family! But only those who hearwhat Jesus did for them can believe. So God has given His sonsa job to do. He has told them to go into all the world and tell thegood news about Jesus to every creature. What a job! What aresponsibility!

But we are not alone in doing the task. Jesus sits at the righthand of God praying for us. When we fail, He is there to hear ourcry for help and talk to God about our need. He pleads our case!

The Holy Spirit makes us aware of who we are. He causes usto worship and rejoice because we are sons and daughters ofGod. This knowledge makes us sure that what God has asked usto do, we can do. Without fear we cry, “Father! My Father!”

The Holy Spirit prays for us when we don’t know how topray as we ought. When the plan of God is unclear and His willfor us seems uncertain, the Holy Spirit prays for us with groansthat words cannot express. What a helper He is!

15 Name an instance when the Holy Spirit prays for us.

.......................................................................................................

As we pray for men to be saved, the Holy Spirit will oftenpray through us in an unknown tongue, lifting our burden andhelping our prayer. The Holy Spirit will, in known and unknowntongues, encourage us and give us strength to go out withspiritual power to witness and win men to Christ. The Spirithelps us pray. The Spirit helps us worship. To what purpose? Tohelp us get our job done!

Worship of God

What is prayer? It is a relationship with God, sometimesspoken and sometimes unspoken. Since we have mentioned itseparately from worship, we can say that prayer has more to dowith the needs of people, while worship has more to do with thepraise of God.


Words like “repent, ask,seek, knock, cast out, claim,believe, thank, and petition”would describe the idea ofprayer. Words like “praise,thanks, meditation, study,honor, glory, and rejoice”would describe worship. Theseare the activities of the sons ofGod in prayer and worship.When add the reading of theWord of God to the above,you have two ways in whichmembers of God’s familycommunicate with Him.

6 Circle the letter before each TRUE statement.a We can communicate with God by reading the Bible.b Prayer can be spoken or unspoken.c Worship is usually praise to God.d God does NOT want to communicate with man.

Prayer brings us into the very presence of God. Prayerstrengthens our faith to claim the promises of God. Prayer willbring Jesus, the One who pleads our cases, to our side when wehave sinned. Prayer will bring us power when we needdeliverance. Above all, prayer will keep the love flowingbetween God and us as we worship Him. We will learn later howto “pray always,” but it is enough to say here that prayer shouldbe as natural as breathing to the child of God.

One more thing before we end this lesson. We don’t have tobe afraid when we come before God. Remember, He is “OurFather.” A child may be afraid of strangers, but he does not fearhis father. Therefore, when we pray, we are told to come boldly.We are told to come into His presence with singing, and into Hiscourts with praise. Read this for yourself in Psalm 100. We are tobe thankful unto Him and bless His name. The presence of Goddoesn’t sound like a place of fear, does it? It sounds more like ahome—like a family gathering. And that is just what God wantsit to be, for He is “Our Father” and we are His sons!

17 How does Psalm 100 say we should come into God’spresence?

.......................................................................................................

WE COMMUNICATE WITH GOD

PRAYER WORSHIP

REPENT PRAISEASK THANKSSEEK MEDITATIONKNOCK STUDYCAST OUT HONORCLAIM GLORYBELIEVE REJOICETHANKPETITION


self-test


1 What relationship did God desire to have with man from thevery beginning?

.......................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................

2 Name five ways that a son of God can come into the presenceof God.

.......................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................

3 In God’s eyes all men are divided into only two groups. Whatare they?

.......................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................

4 Name three ways in which the Holy Spirit helps us in prayer.

.......................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................

MULTIPLE CHOICE. There is only one correct answer for eachquestion. Circle the letter of the correct answer.

5 When 2 Corinthians 5:16 says that we should not judge byhuman standards, it meansa) we should accept all men as brothers.b) we should try to remove the differences that make men uniquec) we should accept believers as brothers despite our

differences.

6 TRUE-FALSE. Circle the letter before each TRUEstatement.a Prayer alone saves us.b We pray because we are saved.c We can worship God while walking.d We can worship God by singing.


7 Put the letter P before the words that best describe prayer andthe letter W before the words that best describe worship.

. . . . a Ask

. . . . b Glory

. . . . c Praise

. . . . d Petition

. . . . e Honor

. . . . f Repent

. . . . g Seek

. . . . h Thank

. . . . i Exalt

. . . . j Claim



9 a) ceases to have faith in Jesus Christ.

1 Man disobeyed God.

10 a False.b True.c False.d False.

2 To make sacrifices for sin.

11 Those who are sons of God.Those who are not sons of God.

3 Jesus Christ.

12 a True.b True.c False.d False.

4 c) believing in the living Son of God and confessing Him asSavior.

13 c) we should accept believers as brothers despite ourdifferences.

5 Calling upon God in repentance and faith to be saved.

14 The fact that they are unbelievers—not a part of God’sfamily.

6 The right to become God’s children.

15 When we do not know how to pray as we should.

7 a False.b False.c True.d True.

16 a True.b True.c True.d False.

8 c) man receiving Jesus Christ as his Savior.

17 With singing, praise, and thanksgiving.

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“In heaven”Matthew 6:9

Why should we write about heaven when we are talkingabout prayer and worship? Well, for a very good reason! If weare to pray as we should, we must know who we are and wherewe belong. We must have the right relationship with the One towhom we are praying. We have to talk about things in which weare both interested. It is hard for a man who knows nothingabout farming to find pleasure talking with someone who onlytalks about farming.

It is said that not everybody who talks about heaven is goingthere. That is true. But it is also true that someone who neverthinks or prays about heaven probably is not going there either!

If heaven is only a nice place in our minds and not a reality,then praying about it would do no good. You can’t think a thinginto being. It either is, or it isn’t. Heaven is a real place, andthose who are sons of God are going there. Why, then, shouldn’twe pray about it?

47

lesson outline

Our Heart and Our HomeCitizenship in HeavenStrangers and Pilgrims

Hope for the FutureHeaven Is No FantasyDeath Is No Failure of Faith

Prayer for This Present WorldToo Little Care for This WorldToo Much Care for This World

lesson objectives


• Pray honestly that your affections will be set on things aboveand your life on earth will be that of a “pilgrim.”

• State how a person’s attitude toward death affects his praying.

• Recognize a citizen of heaven by his actions and attitudetoward this present world.


learning activities

1. Read 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, and 2 Corinthians 5:1-5. Writein your own words what these verses mean.

2. Think of someone who has died recently and pray for theirunsaved relatives who sorrow and have no hope.

3. Do the lesson development section by section, answering thestudy questions. Take the self-test. Check your answers withthose given. Review any questions answered incorrectly.

4. Walk through your home and ask yourself, “Can I leave allthis without regret?” If your answer is “No,” then pray forGod to reveal to you the unseen and the eternal.

key words

affections pilgrimsfantasy realityforeigner saltiness

lesson development

OUR HEART AND OUR HOME

Objective 1. Describe the things that identify the citizen of heavenwhile he is here on earth.

Our prayers and our worship will only be acceptable to Godif our riches and our home are in heaven. Belief in a life inheaven after death is one of the things that makes the Christiandifferent from others in the world. Faith in the unseen and forthe future separates the believer from the unbeliever. It separatesthe man who prays from the man who does not pray.

1 Circle the letter to the left of each TRUE statement.a The unbeliever’s riches are in heaven.b The believer’s home is in heaven.c The Christian is different from others in the world.

Do you remember what the Bible says about Jacob andEsau? They were both guilty of many wrongs. While one wanted

A Kingdom Citizenship 49

things that were future and unseen, the other cared only aboutwhat he could see and enjoy day by day. What did God sayabout them? He said, “I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau” (Romans9:13). The difference between the children of God and childrenof the devil is the place of their riches. “For your heart willalways be where your riches are” (Matthew 6:21).

People pray about the things that are most important to them.The early Christians were poor, but they were not unhappy.They suffered, but they did not complain. Heaven was very realto them. It was the place where their Father was, and therefore itwas home to them. They cared nothing for this world. Theirprayers were for strength, for patience, for faithfulness, and forlove to forgive their enemies. If they were delivered from dangerand persecution, they rejoiced. If they were not delivered, theyfaced death without fear. Their persecutors could destroy theirbodies, but they could not destroy their souls. The Christiansknew that when death came they would be going home. Theylooked forward to being in their Father’s house.

2 What did the early Christians pray for when in trouble?

.......................................................................................................

Citizenship in Heaven

You can usually tell what part of the country a man is fromjust by listening to him talk. Where we live has a lot to do withour actions—the way we do things. It is difficult for a foreignerto hide the fact he is not a true citizen.

You can also quickly recognize a citizen of heaven. Hisspeech will reveal who he is. He may talk about things in thisworld, but if you wait a little while he will soon be talking aboutJesus and about “home.” His speech will not be coarse andunkind. He will be slow to anger. His words will be truthful andloving.

3 You can recognize a citizen of heaven bya) the fact that he is called a Christian.b) his speech and his behavior.c) the teachings of the church he goes to.


You can know a citizen of heaven by his praying. Theforeigner prays to his gods, but his prayers are without hope. Hisprayers are full of fear.Heaven’s citizens pray with joy.They know that Jesus is aliveand that He hears, even thoughthey cannot see Him. Theyknow that He is there and willanswer!

You can know a citizen ofheaven by his earthly home.You will not find hate and envyin it. There will not be anybooks or magazines with evilstories and pictures. You willhear singing, praying, and worshiping there. It will be full ofpeace and happiness. The

4 What are the believer’s home on earth can have a bit ofheaven in it!marks of a Christian home?

.......................................................................................................

Strangers and Pilgrims

Sons of God are in the world, but they do not take part in theevils of the world. They are like a boat in the water. All is wellas long as the water does not get into the boat.

Sons of God are strangers in this world. They are foreigners.They live here and they work here, but they do not belong here.They are from another country! They do not think like thecitizens of this world. They do not value the same things. Theyset their affections on things above, and not on things on theearth!

5 Why can the child of God be called a pilgrim?

.......................................................................................................

That was how it was with Abraham. He lived in a tent. He didnot consider the tent his home. He looked for a city whose builder

God islove

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and maker was God. This made his life different. This made hispraying different. He had wealth, but he did not seek wealth. Hisnephew, Lot, sought wealth and lost everything. Abraham soughtthe will of God above everything else; and God provided all thathe needed. Heaven’s citizens pray for the right things!

It was the same with Moses. He chose to suffer with God’schildren rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. Hedid not pray for himself. He did not seek his own comfort. Hesought to do the will of God. His rejoicing was in the fact thatGod’s people had been set free from Pharaoh. His happiness wasbecause they were going home to the promised land. This hopemade his work untiring and his prayers unselfish.

6 How were Moses and Abraham alike in their praying?

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Paul’s prayers were seldom for personal deliverance. Heprayed that the Word of God would be well received. He prayedfor power to preach it. His heart and his home were in heaven.Paul said he would rather “go” than “stay.” Yet, he stayed, andhe prayed, because there was much work to be done. He waswilling to be a foreigner, and to live in a strange country in orderto bring the good news about Jesus to those who had not heard.He was willing to wait for awhile on earth so that he could addto the “progress and joy in the faith” of others who, like himself,were pilgrims here (Philippians 1:25).

7 Why was Paul willing to stay on earth rather than go toheaven at once?

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HOPE FOR THE FUTURE

Objective 2. Explain why the death of a believer is not a failure offaith, and how hope affects the kind of prayers wepray.

“For it was by hope that we were saved; but if we see whatwe hope for, then it is not really hope. For who hopes for


something he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, wewait for it with patience” (Romans 8:24-25). It would be well foryou to learn these verses of Scripture. Remember, hope helps usto wait patiently for heaven.

We live on this earth without having seen heaven. We havenever seen our home! We live by hope. While we are on earth thereare many things to discourage us, for we share the same curse thatcame upon all men because of sin. We get tired. We get sick. Weget thirsty and hungry. So we groan. The unbeliever also groans,because he suffers just as we do. But our groaning and theunbeliever’s groaning are different. The unbeliever groans withouthope. The believer groans with hope. We know that one day we willleave this world and go to heaven. Hope makes patience possible.The unbeliever has no hope. After the suffering of this life, he facesonly greater suffering!

8 How is the believer’s groaning under the curse different fromthe groaning of the unbeliever?

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We have another hope. We pray for the return of Christbefore we die. If He comes before we die, we will go with Himto heaven without dying. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? It wassomething that the early Christians prayed for, and it issomething for which we today should also hope and pray.

Heaven Is No Fantasy

Our praying and our hope willmean nothing if heaven is only adream or an idea of our minds. Heavenis a real place. God, our Father, is inheaven.

Paul said that he was taken to thehighest heaven. He was talking aboutthe heaven where God is. There is aheaven of the clouds. There is aheaven of the stars. There is the “highest heaven,” the heavenwhere the Father is.


Paul said he heard things there which cannot be put intowords, things that human lips may not “speak” (2 Corinthians12:4). Paul had no doubt about a real heaven. He had seen it! Nowonder he said he would rather go to be with Christ than to stayon earth!

9 Read 2 Corinthians 12:3-4 and tell what Paul’s reaction was.

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The Holy Spirit makes the truth of heaven very real to newconverts. The early Christians lived with heaven on their minds.The book of Revelation tells of things that will happen in heavenat the end of time. It especially talks about the glory of the Kingof Kings whose throne is in heaven. Praise God! When heavenbecomes real to the believer, worship and praise are the fruit ofhis faith!

10 Circle the letter to the left of each TRUE statement.a Each man makes his own heaven by his attitude in life.b The highest heaven is the place of God’s throne.c The reality of heaven is made known to the believer by the

Holy Spirit.d The truth about heaven is only for older mature believers.

Death Is No Failure of Faith

We need to say something about the death of the believer.When our loved ones are sick, we always pray for their healing.It is right to do so. Jesus healed the sick, and He still healstoday. But, not all sick believers are healed. Some die. Is theirdeath a failure of faith?

There are those who look on death as defeat. They pray forhealing and deliverance for someone. Then, when death comesinstead of healing, they act as though something terrible hashappened. They get a feeling of guilt, as though they hadsomehow failed in prayer and in faith.

How can “going home” be a failure? If death has lost itssting, why should we be pierced with guilt? Why should abeliever’s departure to heaven be a disaster?


Is death a failure of faith? No. A thousand times, no!Hebrews 11:39 speaks of those who died and were not delivered.It says, “What a record all of these have won by their faith!”

11 Circle the letter to the left of each TRUE statement.a Jesus still heals and delivers believers from death.b When a believer dies it means someone’s faith has failed.c The believer should not fear death because its sting is gone.d Those who were not delivered in Hebrews 11 died in faith.

Death is not a failure of faith. The true citizen of heavenknows this. Those whose affections are too much on this worldforget this. Their praying is not perfect, because they love thispresent world too much!

PRAYER FOR THIS PRESENT WORLD

Objective 3. Name some activities in this world that we should seekto influence through prayer.

The world is not forever. It will pass away. Should we prayfor it? Should we try to improve it? The Bible tells us that weshould pray for our leaders. It says we should pray for those whorule over us. It says we should love our enemies and pray forthose who persecute us (Matthew 5:44). So the answer is, “Yes,we should pray for this world.” We must be concerned withgetting men to live in a better world. But, we should also betrying to make this world a better place in which to live. AsChristians that is part of our job.

Too Little Care for This World

The citizen of heaven should be a good citizen on earth. Infact, he should be the best citizen on earth. He believes inobeying rulers and the laws that govern the land. Heaven’scitizens should not willfully break the law. They should paytheir taxes. A believer who has to pay a fine because he willfullybroke the law is a poor example for his “country.” A believer injail for a crime committed after his salvation would have a hardtime making those in jail with him believe that he is a citizen ofa kingdom of righteousness!


We should pray that God will help us be good citizens. Somebelievers are so “heavenly” minded that they are of no “earthly”good. This should not happen. We are the salt of the earth. Saltimproves the taste of food. Believers improve the earth. Theworld is blessed because believers are in it. Their presencebrings peace and joy. Their prayers uphold rulers. Theirrighteousness strengthens the nation.

12 State three reasons why a citizen of heaven makes the bestcitizen on this earth.

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Too Much Care for This World

Of course, it is possible to become so busy with the affairs ofthis world that we forget why God put us here. We are the salt ofthe earth, but our “saltiness” is the knowledge of Jesus Christand the righteous life He helps us live. We cannot be the salt ofthe earth if we ignore the fact that we are strangers andforeigners here. We can only help the world if we help itunderstand the plan of God. We must not let the things of thisworld cause us to neglect the task Jesus has given us.

13 What is the “saltiness” of the believer?

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We should pray for two things. We should pray that ouraffections will not be drawn to the things of this world. “Do notlove the world or anything that belongs to the world. If you lovethe world, you do not love the Father” (1 John 2:15). That’s thefirst thing we should pray for when thinking about trying toimprove the world and setting a good example in it.

The second thing to pray for is that we will not fail to do thetask God has given us. “While I am in the world, I am the lightfor the world” (John 9:5). Jesus said these words while He wasin this world, and He is our example. He went about doing good.We should also go about doing good. He prayed for the sick. Weshould also pray for the sick. He cast out demons. We should


cast out demons also. He preached the gospel of the kingdom.We should preach the gospel of the kingdom also. While He wasin the world, He was the light of the world. Jesus said so. Hesaid, “You are like light for the whole world” (Matthew 5:14).He also said, “Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and makethem my disciples” (Matthew 28:19).

14 Circle the letter to the left of each TRUE statement.Believers should pray thata their favorite politician would win.b their love will not be drawn to the things of the world.c that they will have what their neighbors have.d that they will not fail to do the task God has given them.

So, while we are strangers in this country, we have a greattask to do. It may cause us suffering and pain, but it also causedJesus suffering and pain. When Jesus died upon the cross, Hespoke of His work on earth and said, “It is finished.” Then Hewent to heaven. He went home! We, too, have a task to finish.When it is done, we can rejoice as Jesus rejoiced, and say, “It isfinished.” Then we, like Jesus, can go home. What a day thatwill be, when we all get to heaven.


self-test


1 Name three things that reveal the citizenship of a son of God.

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2 Where are the riches of the believer?

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3 Tell how the faith of Abraham and Moses concerning thereality of heaven affected their prayers.

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4 What is the difference in the way the knowledge of the curseaffects the believer and the unbeliever?

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5 What did Jesus mean when He said that we are the salt of theearth?

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6 Name two things a citizen of heaven should pray forconcerning his stay on earth.

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7 TRUE-FALSE. Circle the letter to the left of each TRUEstatement.a Death should not come to a Christian.b Death of a believer is a failure of faith.c Death’s sting has been removed for the believer.d Death will not come to believers alive at Christ’s return.



8 The believer groans with hope.The unbeliever has no hope.

1 a False.b True.c True.

9 He could not put what he saw into words.

2 Strength, patience, faithfulness and love to forgive theirenemies.

10 a False.b True.c True.d False.

3 b) his speech and his behavior.

11 a True.b False.c True.d True.

4 No hate or envy, but singing, praying, worshiping, peace andhappiness.

12 He respects leaders, he obeys the law, he pays his taxes.

5 He is really a citizen of heaven and traveling here on earthfor only a short time.

13 The knowledge of Jesus Christ and the righteous life Hehelps us live.

6 Both sought to do God’s will.

14 a False.b True.c False.d True.

7 So that he could add to the progress and joy of otherbelievers still on earth.


For Your Notes

Unit TwoThThThThe e e e PPPPrrrriiiiororororiiiitttty y y y oooof Wf Wf Wf Wororororsssshhhhiiiipppp

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LeLeLeLesssssssson on on on 4444A A A A KKKKiiiing Tng Tng Tng To o o o BBBBe We We We Worshipeorshipeorshipeorshipedddd

“May your holy name be honored”Matthew 6:9

In Unit 1 we talked about the believer’s position in prayer.We talked about the position of the mind—not the position ofthe body. In other words, when you know who you are andwhere you belong, you are better able to worship and pray.

In this unit we will talk about that which is most important inworship and prayer. We will talk about priorities. “Whoevercomes to God must have faith that God exists and rewards thosewho seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

“Faith that God exists” means the worship of God. “Rewardsthose who seek Him” means prayers asking God for something.First we must worship. Then we may ask. But remember, Herewards those who seek Him—not those who seek rewards!

So, the priority in prayer is worship. We are to be concernedabout Him and His kingdom above everything else! That is why,in this unit, we talk about YOUR name, YOUR kingdom, andYOUR will.

63

lesson outline

Honoring the KingThe Object of WorshipThe Duty of Worship

Overthrowing the UsurperThe Faces of the UsurperThe Fallacy of the Empty Throne

Honoring the King’s NameThe Power of the NameThe Reputation of the King

lesson objectives


• Understand the importance of beginning your prayers withworship to God before asking for your own wants.

• Examine your requests when you pray to see whether theyhonor God.


• Recognize how Satan tries to usurp Christ’s place in abeliever’s heart.

• Identify and break habits of speech and action that dishonor God.

learning activities

1. Do the lesson development section by section. Write theanswers to the study questions and self-test questions.

2. Read the following Scriptures that speak of the power ofJesus’ name: John 1:12; 14:13; Acts 3:16; 4:12; 9:14; 22:16;Romans 10:13.

3. Read Romans 6:12-23 and explain why it is impossible tohave an empty throne in one’s heart.

4. Witness about Christ to someone today as an act of honor tothe name of God.

key words

fallacy rebel usurperproclaim reputation

lesson development

HONORING THE KING

Objective 1. Name some ways a believer can honor God as King.

God is not only our Father. God is our King. He has akingdom. We will learn more about this kingdom later.

A King To Be Worshiped 65

As sons, we call Him Father. As citizens, we call Him King.As sons, we thank Him for His love and care. As citizens, weobey and worship Him.

So, God is both Father and King, and we are both sons andcitizens. The greatest evil that a citizen can do is to fail torespect and obey his king. The greatest good that he can do is toserve and honor him. Love and honor can be shown byobedience and service, but that is not enough.

1 A citizen should ...................... and ...................... his King.

We are not mere servants. We are sons and citizens. OurFather and King wants more from us than obedience andservice. He wants to speak with us and have fellowship. That iswhy times of worship are so important. We can work for a manand have to obey him without loving him. But we cannotworship God unless we honor and love Him.

2 Why does God want more from us than just our service?

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The Object of Worship

God wants worship that is personal and filled with praise.God wants us to tell Him that we love Him. God wants worshipthat honors Him as King.

Some people worship lifeless images. Some worship deadancestors. Some worship nature. But none of these things arewarm and personal. None of these can show us love. None ofthese things can answer prayers.

What about the believers? The object of our worship is alive.The object of our worship is loving. The object of our worshipwill make Himself known to us as we come into His presencewith singing and praise. The object of our worship is the trueGod! He is not just a god. He is the only God! Beside Him thereis no other!


3 What does it mean to worship God as He desires?

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The Duty of Worship

Someone may say, “I worship God, but I don’t believe thatJesus is the Son of God.” Impossible! You cannot worship Godand at the same time refuse His Son.

In 1 John 3:22-23, John speaks about God and says, “Wereceive from him whatever we ask, because we obey hiscommands and do what pleases him. What he commands is thatwe believe in his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just asChrist commanded us.” How can people say they worship Godand at the same time disobey Him? He has commanded them tobelieve that Jesus Christ is His Son. Are they going to obeyHim? Or are they going to continue to deceive themselves andthink that God accepts their worship while they are, at the sametime, rejecting His Son?

4 In 1 John 3:22-23, what has God commanded us to do?

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If we are to worship God, we must also worship His Son. InPhilippians 2:7-11 it says of Jesus:

Of his own free will he gave up all he had, and took thenature of a servant. He became like man and appeared inhuman likeness. He was humble and walked the path ofobedience all the way to death—his death on the cross.For this reason God raised him to the highest place aboveand gave him the name that is greater than any othername. And so, in honor of the name of Jesus all beings inheaven, on earth, and in the world below will fall on theirknees, and all will openly proclaim that Jesus Christ isLord, to the glory of God the Father.

In honor of the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow! It is ourprivilege now. It will be every unbeliever’s duty later! God has


given the authority to His Son Jesus who shall rule until He hasdefeated every enemy. Then, even his enemies shall bow inhonor of His name. Why not do it willingly now?

5 Circle the letter to the left of each TRUE statement.a Every knee shall bow before Christ.b Only Christians will bow before Christ.c God has commanded men to believe in Jesus Christ.d God has given Jesus a name greater than every other name.

OVERTHROWING THE USURPER

Objective 2. Tell who the usurper is and who and what he uses todo his work.

The Faces of the Usurper

If we are to know how to pray, it is necessary for us to knowwho is ruling our hearts. If we are puffed up with pride, if wethink more of ourselves than we ought to think, if we areseeking our own glory, then Satan has succeeded in putting“self” back on the throne of our heart.

You can tell who is on the throne of a man’s heart bywatching what annoys and angers him. Is he troubled when thename of God is insulted? Does he get upset when people defilehis Father’s house? Does he save his anger for those who insulthim? Is he annoyed when people fail to honor him for what hethinks he is? Blessed is the man who lets God rule in his heart,and who honors his King’s name!

6 When a man says he is ruled by no one, he showsa) that Satan has put self on the throne of his heart.b) that he has full control of his life.c) that Christ is Lord of his life.

But, there are other usurpers besides “self” whom Satan putson the throne of man’s heart. Another very troublesome one iscalled “service.” It is hard to recognize him because it is easy tothink that God has put him there. We can get so busy doing


things for God that we make a god out of work and even beginto worship it. We neglect prayer. We don’t honor God’s name.We are too busy! We say our work is our worship to God.

We are like a husband who thinks that, because he has agood job and provides for his family, he is a good husband to hiswife. When his wife complains, and says he is not paying anyattention to her, he points to his work and says she ought to begrateful and satisfied. But she wants more than bread on thetable. She wants his love. She wants him to talk with her. Shewants him to share his thoughts and his feelings with her. Shewants to be close to him and tell him the things that havehappened in the family. She wants to tell him the thoughts of herown heart.

God is like that. He appreciates all the work we do for Him,but He also wants us to spend time with Him. He wants us toshare our thoughts with Him and to enjoy His presence. Hewants us to worship Him and give glory to His name.

7 What does God want from us more than service?

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The priests in the time of the prophet Malachi were a goodexample of what we are saying. Listen to Malachi’s words:“And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. If ye willnot lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the Lord ofhosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse yourblessings . . .” (Malachi 2:1-2, KJV).

The priests were serving at the altars. They were doing theirduties. But they did not do it to glorify the name of God. Theydid it because it was a job—a way of earning their living. This,of course, affected the way in which they did their work. Theydidn’t really care about the people. They only cared forthemselves. When you do not worship for the right reasons, youdo not do your work right! When work, instead of God, becomesking, it causes you not to care about God, your family, or others.


But when God is on the throne, you work for His glory, andeverything you do glorifies Him.

8 Why was God dissatisfied with the work of the priests in thedays of Malachi?

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Let us speak of one other thing that takes honor from God’sname. When we become followers of men, Satan uses ourworship of these men to push God off the throne of our heart.The Corinthian church had this problem. Some were followersof Paul. Some were followers of Apollos. Some were followersof Peter. So they allowed division to come among them. Theywere putting men on the throne of their hearts rather than God.They were more concerned about the names of Paul, Apollos,and Peter than they were about the glory of God! What a shame!What a terrible thing when believers care more about honoringmen than about honoring God! Now, there was nothing wrongwith Paul, Apollos, and Peter. They were all God-honoring men.The evil was in the people who put them on the throne of theirhearts and honored them more than God. Let us put God on thethrone of our hearts and worship Him!

9 Read 1 Corinthians 3:1-7 and tell what was wrong in thischurch.

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The Fallacy of the Empty Throne

Objective 3. Describe the methods Satan uses to usurp Christ’sthrone in the believer’s heart.

The devil is a deceiver and a rebel. He was one of God’shighest angels, but his heart became lifted up and filled withpride. He decided to try to take the throne of God, so he led arebellion in heaven. Many angels were deceived by him andfollowed him. Read in Ezekiel 28:1-17 about the King of Tyre.It is a picture of Satan’s rebellion. God cast Satan out of heavenas well as the rebellious angels who had followed him. Satan


was cast down to the earth, and has ruled here ever since thattime. God’s plan is to overthrow Satan and take back controlover the world. He first sent Jesus who defeated sin and deathand broke the power of Satan. In the end, He will destroy Satanand rule the world.

10 Ezekiel 28:1-17 discusses the King of Tyre. It is also apicture ofa) the coming of Christ to this earth.b) the final defeat of Satan.c) Satan’s rebellion.

Hebrews 2:14-15 is a clear account of what Jesus did tomake the plan of God possible:

Jesus Himself became like them and shared their humannature. He did this so that through his death he mightdestroy the Devil, who has the power over death, and inthis way set free those who were slaves all their livesbecause of their fear of death.

Satan still rules this world, but his rule will soon be finished.He still sits on the throne of the hearts of unbelievers andcontrols them. Soon Jesus will come again, and when He does,He will rule the world and all who are in it. Satan’s power andcontrol will be completely finished. His power has already beenbroken for all those who believe in Jesus. He can no longercontrol them. Satan today no longer sits on the throne of theirhearts. The usurper has already been overthrown in thebeliever’s heart! Hallelujah!

11 How did Jesus free those who were slaves to the fear ofdeath?

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Satan has been overthrown in the heart of the believer. Is thethrone empty? Does no one rule the believer? There is a greatlesson here! There is no such thing as an empty throne. EitherGod is on the throne, or a usurper is occupying it. When one


ruler is overthrown, another takes his place. In fact, rulers do notusually leave their thrones unless someone throws them off!

12 What is the fallacy of the empty throne in the hearts of men?

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Some believe they have no ruler. These people say that theyare masters of their own lives, and that no one else rules them.How wrong they are! How they deceive themselves!

Surely you know that when you surrender yourselves asslaves to obey someone, you are in fact the slaves of themaster you obey—either of sin, which results in death, orof obedience, which results in being put right with God(Romans 6:16).

We are the slaves of the master we obey. Can you say thatyou are living without sin? Can you say that you are not obeyingthe selfish desires of your heart? Can you say that your emotionsdo not control you?

13 What shows who your master is?

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If things control you or have power in your life, then youcannot say that you are free. You are not your own master. Youdo have a king! You may not call him Satan. You may call him“self,” but Satan is the one who put “self”’ there. Satan is ruingyou through your “self”!

HONORING THE KING’S NAME

Objective 4. State what can be accomplished in the King’s nameand why His name deserves honor.

The Power of the Name

Matthew 6:9 says, “May your holy name be honored.” Whydoes it speak of His name rather than of God Himself? Why


doesn’t it say, “May you be honored”? Isn’t a man moreimportant than his name? How can a name be important?

When a man signs his name to a paper, he is saying that heagrees to do whatever is written on the paper. Now, if he is apoor man and agrees to pay a lot of money, we say that he isusing his name improperly. It is not honest to put your name onsomething you cannot fulfill or do.

But, think of what God’s name means! God is all-powerful. Godis all-knowing. God is everywhere. He is the owner of unlimitedriches and lacks nothing. So, if God puts His name to any writing,you can be sure that He is able to do what He says He will do.

14 How can you be sure God can do what He says He will do?

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If we are to learn how to pray, we must believe that God willdo what He has promised to do when we ask in His name. Godhas written many promises in His Word. To doubt His Word isto insult His name! It is as though He gives us a check signedwith His name and we refuse to take it to the bank because wedo not believe He has enough money there to honor it!

Paul said, “Everyone who calls out to the Lord for help willbe saved” (Romans 10:13).

Jesus said, “If you believe, you will receive whatever youask for in prayer” (Matthew 21:22).

God says, “I am the Lord, the one who heals you” (Exodus15:26).

Believer, child of God, take these promises, signed by Hisname, to God in prayer. He will answer!

15 What do the preceding verses tell us about God?

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There are many other promises written in His Word. He has“signed” them all. Do you doubt them? Do you doubt the truth


of His Word? Can you put away your doubts, right now, andtrust His name? Go to Him in prayer. Go—in faith! Go—in Hisname!

We are quick to believe men. We trust the word of doctors,ministers, friends, and even politicians, but we seem to have ahard time believing God. How can we expect God to answerprayer when we give men’s names more honor than God’sname? When we believe the word of men more than we believethe promises of God, we do not know how to pray. We are nottrusting, above everything else, the promises of God given inHis name!

16 Match the verses (left) to the correct Scriptures (right) byplacing the correct number on each blank.

. . . . a “I am the Lord, the one whoheals you.”

. . . . b If you believe, you will receive.”

. . . . c “Everyone who calls out to theLord for help will be saved.”

1) Matthew 21:222) Exodus 15:263) Romans 10:13

The Reputation of the King

A name carries with it a man’s reputation. A name doesn’tmake you what you are. What you are makes your name! So, ifyou are a dishonest man, you soon get a name for yourself. “Youcan’t trust that man,” people will say. You have earned a namefor being dishonest. Now, you may say, “That’s not my name.My name is ‘Mr. Truth’.” But, that won’t make any difference tothose who know you. To them, your name is “Mr. Dishonest!”because of how you live. As Christians we must always worktoward glorifying God by our good reputations.

The Bible says, “Do not use my name for evil purposes”(Exodus 20:7). We use God’s name for evil purposes when wesay it carelessly, or use it when not speaking for His glory. Thisis called “swearing” or “cursing.” We take God’s name in vainwhen we have so little respect for Him that we call His name in


times of disgust or surprise. If we only use His name toemphasize our feelings, and not as an act of worship, we areinsulting the name of God. We are failing to honor His name.

17 Name one way to honor God’s name.

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So, let us conclude this lesson by listing some things wemust do if we are to know how to pray.

1. We must honor God as King in our hearts.

2. We must recognize that we are His sons and citizens ofheaven, and not put anyone or anything else on the throneof our hearts.

3. We must believe in the power of His name and claim Hispromises.

4. We must be careful in what we say and what we do,knowing that we are representing God.


self-test


1 Explain the difference between servants and sons as it relatesto worship.

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2 Explain an important difference between God, our Father,and the gods other men worship.

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3 Name three things Satan puts on the throne of our hearts tousurp the kingship of Jesus.

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4 How did the Corinthian church dishonor Christ?

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5 What is the fallacy of the empty throne in the hearts of men?

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6 Name the four things mentioned at the close of Lesson 4 thatwe must do if we are to learn how to pray.

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9 Jealousy, following after men.

1 (any two) obey, serve, love, honor, respect.

10 c) Satan’s rebellion.

2 We are not servants, we are sons. He wants our love and ourworship.

11 Through His death he destroyed the devil’s power.

3 God wants worship that is personal, honors His name, and isfilled with praise.

12 There is no such thing as an empty throne. Either God is onthe throne, or a usurper is occupying it.

4 That we believe in Jesus and love one another.

13 The one you obey is your master.


14 He is all-powerful, all-knowing.

6 a) that Satan has put self on the throne of his heart

15 He will keep His promises.

7 Our worship and fellowship.

16 a 2) Exodus 15:26.b 1) Matthew 21:22.c 3) Romans 10:13.

8 Because they did not give glory to His name.

17 By our good reputations.


For Your Notes

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“May your Kingdom come”Matthew 6:10

Most men and women have plans for their lives. They wantto be doctors or lawyers. They want to become rich and well-known. They have a picture in their minds of what life will belike when they have reached their goals. They are kingdombuilders!

Some people have no plans of their own. They would ratherfind some strong person who is building a kingdom, and helphim in his vision. They get their happiness out of being a part ofsomeone else’s plans.

This is what the Christian does. He builds no kingdoms ofhis own. He does not try to be known for some great work hehas done. Rather, he seeks God’s glory and the coming of God’skingdom. His prayer is always, “May your kingdom come.” Hisonly desire is to have a part in the coming of that kingdom. Henot only prays for it, but he goes out to fulfill the GreatCommission of Jesus.

One important prayer a believer should always pray is,“Lord, let me build Thy kingdom, and not my kingdom!” Manybelievers are very busy, but they are busy building their ownkingdoms instead of God’s kingdom.

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lesson outline

The Nature of God’s KingdomThe Place of God’s KingdomThe Time of God’s Kingdom

The Growth of God’s KingdomThe CommissionThe Completion

The Glory of God’s KingdomChrist in the Assembly of BelieversChrist in Acts of Worship

lesson objectives


• Distinguish between the inward kingdom and the outwardkingdom of God.

• Evaluate your part in fulfilling Christ’s command in Matthew28:19-20.

• Understand why worship in every local assembly of the bodyof Christ must be centered around the person of Christ.


learning activities

1. Read the lesson development section by section. Write theanswers to the study questions and self-test questions.

2. Pray for five missionaries by name and write words ofencouragement to one of them.

3. Write a description of the “Living One” defined inRevelation 1:12-18.

4. Review the new words that you have learned in the first fourlessons.

key words

disciple Great Commissionevangelize nature

lesson development

THE NATURE OF GOD’S KINGDOM

Objective 1. Explain how God’s kingdom is both now and yet tocome.

There is no kingdom like God’s kingdom. There is no kinglike God.

The kingdom of God is now, yet is to come. The kingdom ofGod is now unseen, yet soon to be seen. The kingdom of God isinward (in the heart of the believer), but still its glory is around us.

1 Circle the letter to the left of each TRUE statement.a The kingdom of God is now.b The kingdom of God is yet to come.c The kingdom of God is within the believer.d The kingdom of God will be seen.

The kingdom of God is first on the list of things for whichwe should pray. Its priority takes equal place with therighteousness of God. And why not? The kingdom of God isrighteousness. God’s righteousness! So, he who seeks the

A Kingdom To Be Sought 81

kingdom of God is seeking the righteousness of God. He whoseeks the righteousness of God is seeking God Himself. Youcannot separate God and His righteousness. So, it all goestogether . . . YOUR name, YOUR kingdom, YOURrighteousness. You cannot have one without the other. He whoseeks them all above everything else is praying as he should.

2 Explain how the name of God and the kingdom of Godcannot be separated.

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The Place of God’s Kingdom

Where is God’s kingdom? In heaven? Yes, in heaven. Onearth? Yes, it will be. In man? Certainly, but only in those whoreceive Christ.

How can this be? Well, it’s this way—a kingdom must be ina citizen before he can be a good citizen in the kingdom. Thereare many examples of leaders who rule by force. Their citizensobey them because they fear them. But, such leaders soon losetheir kingdoms, because their kingdom is not in the hearts of thepeople. At the first chance they get, the citizens will revolt. Theywill replace the old leader with one they trust and love.

This has happened over and over again throughout the world.An evil ruler will receive outward worship and praise from hispeople; but they are only speaking words to please him lest hebe angry with them. Even while they are praising him with theirlips, they are hating him in their hearts. They have alreadyrejected him.

3 A true kingdom must be in a man’s heart becausea) a kingdom cannot last unless it is in the people’s hearts.b) obedience can only come from the heart.c) citizens must fear the ruler if the kingdom is to be strong.

This is why we say that a strong and lasting kingdom mustbe in a man before the man can be a good citizen of a kingdom.This is why the kingdom of God is an everlasting kingdom. It


starts in the hearts of its citizens the moment they believe. So,we can say that the “place” of the kingdom of God is in the heartof man.

The kingdom of God is not only in the hearts of believers.The day will come when Christ will rule over an “outward”kingdom. It will be a kingdom that can be seen and one thatincludes the whole world and all the people in it.

The only thing about the outward kingdom of God that willbe different to the believer will be that which was “unseen” willnow be “seen.” But the goodness of the kingdom will be thesame. Its righteousness, its peace, and its joy which the HolySpirit gives will not be something new to the believer. He hasbeen a citizen of God’s kingdom from the day of his spiritualbirth!

4 The kingdom of God is .............., ...................................., and

.......................................................... which the Holy Spirit gives.

What a day that will be when the kingdom we can seecomes! What happiness for those who know the true nature ofthe kingdom of God. They have known and practiced a life ofrighteousness, peace, and joy which the Holy Spirit gives!

Yes, many will rejoice in that day. But what about those whodon’t know the Savior? What about the nations that have neverheard? There will be no joy for them unless we go and tell themthat Jesus saves!

Then how busy we should be! How we should pray! How weshould work until all the world knows that there is a kingdomthat starts in the heart. A kingdom that will be seen by all whenJesus comes.

This means that we should pray that everyone everywhere willaccept Christ. We should pray that God’s kingdom will spread tothe hearts of all men all over the world. At the same time, we mustbe prepared to go anywhere God tells us to share the good newsabout Jesus. No man can pray as he ought to pray who does nothave a deep cry within himself to see the lost saved.


5 What must those who pray “May your kingdom come” beprepared to do?

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When the “Great Commission” means nothing to us it isimpossible for us to pray as we should. We must never allow ourwork, our friends, or the cares of this life to interfere with thistask. Those who pray “May your kingdom come” must be readyto go into all the world and carry the gospel to every creature.God’s kingdom cannot come to those who have never heard, forfaith comes by hearing.

The Time of God’s Kingdom

The kingdom of God is now. Its boundaries are not marked.It has no customs barriers or immigration posts. It has nonational flag. It is a kingdom in the heart of believers. God sitson the throne of the believer’s heart and rules His kingdom fromthere! “The Kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21).“Jesus said, ‘My kingdom does not belong to this world’” (John18:36). In other words, God’s kingdom is unlike any otherkingdom in the world. His kingdom is a spiritual kingdom. “TheKingdom of God does not come in such a way as to be seen”(Luke 17:20). Of course not! When it is in the heart, it cannot beseen except by the life and actions of its citizens! And that iswhat our next Scripture verse talks about: “For God’s Kingdomis not a matter of eating and drinking, but of the righteousness,peace, and joy which the Holy Spirit gives” (Romans 14:17).

6 Match the letters on the left of the statements to the Scripturetexts that are on the right.

. . . . a “The Kingdom of God is withinyou.”

. . . . b “My kingdom does not belong to thisworld.”

. . . . c “The Kingdom of God does notcome in such a way as to be seen.”

1) John 18:362) Luke 17:203) Luke 17:21


When the kingdom of God is now, the proof of the kingdomwill be seen now. If we put the kingdom of God beforeeverything else now, it will be seen in our home, at our work,and among our friends. We will not be the king in these places.God will be the King! Most problems people face in theirhomes, at work, and with their friends come from the fact thatthey seek their own will rather than God’s pleasure. When weput God’s kingdom before everything else in our lives, most ofour problems are solved! Our homes become happy places. Ourwork becomes satisfying. Our friends find us easier to live withbecause we are not selfish. No wonder Jesus said all these otherthings would be added if we would put His kingdom beforeeverything else (Matthew 6:33).

7 Name three places where proof of the kingdom of Godwithin us will be seen.

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The kingdom of God is still to come. It is “now,” but it isalso “yet to come.” We pray “May your kingdom come.” Wegroan for the day when what will die must be changed into whatis immortal (1 Corinthians 15:53). One of the great joys ofworship is to sing and tell of what will happen when Jesuscomes. A wonderful Scripture in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 tellsof Jesus’ coming. It ends with the words, “So then, encourageone another with these words.” Worship is sharing our hopeabout things to come. It is talking to God about the kingdom thatis within us, and letting Him reveal to us some of the joys of thekingdom we have yet to see.

8 First Thessalonians 4:13-18 tells us thata) only the people living when Christ returns will go to heaven.b) the dead in Christ will rise first.c) the angels will come down from heaven to take believers

back with them.d) those who are alive on the day the Lord comes will go to

heaven.


THE GROWTH OF GOD’S KINGDOM

Objective 2. List four things a believer should do to see that theGreat Commission is carried out.

Prayer and worship are wonderful to enjoy. But they must beenjoyed with the full knowledge of God’s plan. We will talkmore about this in the next lesson. But we need to speak a littleabout it in this lesson because it concerns the growth of thekingdom of God.

Jesus said that He would build His church. Christ’s “church”is people—people who believe in Jesus. Wherever there arebelievers, there you will find Christ’s church. Members of Hischurch are the citizens of the kingdom of God. So, when Christbuilds His church He is building His kingdom. This is the greatplan and work of God, This is what we should be praying about.

The church grows in two ways. These are two things weshould be praying about.

1. It increases in number of members.2. Its members increase in Christlikeness.

9 Circle the letter to the left of each TRUE statement.a The believers make up the “church.”b The “church” grows in number as buildings are built.c The kingdom of God is being built as believers are added to

the “church.”d The “church” always stays the same.

The Commission

To do this work, Christ gave His disciples the “GreatCommission.” He said, “Go, then, to all peoples everywhere andmake them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father,the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everythingI have commanded you. And I will be with you always, to theend of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).

10 What is the name given to the command Jesus gives inMatthew 28:19-20?

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There are four parts to the command:

1. Go to them.2. Disciple them.3. Baptize them.4. Teach them.

That is a job that should keep us praying until Jesus comes!Let us look at them one by one.

Go to them

This is not a call. It does not say,“Come.” It says “Go!” It is acommand. Do not be troubled in yourpraying about a “call.” Jesus called Hisdisciples to Himself and sent themforth. The call of God is to salvation.We are called to belong to Jesus. Thatis the “come” of the gospel. But the command is different. Jesus istalking to those who have heard His call and have come unto Him.He says to these, “Go!” “Go to all peoples everywhere. Go andmake them My disciples. Go and baptize them. Go and teachthem.” We do not have to wait for a voice from heaven. A voicehas already spoken. It is the voice of Jesus, and it said, “Go!”

11 Explain the call of God as it relates to the GreatCommission.

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Disciple them

This is the command toevangelize. To cause men to believethat Jesus is the Savior and Lord iswhat we have been sent to do. We arecommanded to make converts inevery nation. People do not begin tobelieve in Jesus because we knowhow to argue. They do not begin tobelieve in Jesus because we have a


good education. It is only when the Holy Spirit takes the wordswe speak that they feel the guilt of sin. It is when the love ofJesus touches their hearts—it is then that they will repent andbelieve. This means that we must pray and ask God to put theright words into our mouths.

12 What does the command to disciple mean?

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Baptize them

This is a command to bring thosewho have believed to committhemselves publicly to follow the Lord.It is not enough to believe in our hearts.We must confess with our mouths andbe baptized in water. The command to be baptized is very clear. It isa public testimony and picture of what has happened within us.When we believed, we died to sin. This is what being put under thewater tells those who are watching. When we believed, we becamenew people—sons of God. This is what coming out of the watertells those who are watching. Every believer should be baptized inwater. It is a command.

13 Water baptism speaks of what?

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Teach them

What a job this is! How muchprayer and study it requires to teachnew converts to be like Jesus. Whatare we supposed to teach them? Notjust to be a church member. Not justto know church rules. Not just to beable to say the Lord’s prayer and passthe new believer’s test. Not just howto sing and pray. But, to be like Jesus! New converts (and oldones, too) must be taught God’s love, His way of living, and HisWord.


14 What should new converts be taught?

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The Completion

God’s great plan is not yet complete. To each of us is given atask. Each of us can finish our part of the plan.

Jesus finished His part. He became a man. He healed thesick. Jesus taught men the truths about God’s kingdom. Then Hedid what He had come to do. He died, and by dying He tookaway the sins of the world. As He hung on the cross He cried,“It is finished!” His work was complete!

Jesus gave the disciples work to do. He said, “Go, preach,baptize, and teach.” They obeyed, and the gospel spread fromcountry to country. One by one the disciples died, but each wasable to say that he had finished his part of the plan.

Today the command is still with us. We each have our taskfrom God. Each of us should pray to know exactly what our partin the plan is. Then, when we have fully obeyed and our life isover, we will be able to say, “It is finished. I have completed mytask!”

15 Circle the letter to the left of each TRUE statement.a We do not have to pray because Jesus said, “It is finished.”b The disciples obeyed the “Great Commission.”c Jesus has given each of us a task to do.d Jesus finished His part of the task.

Paul said, “And now there is waiting for me the prize ofvictory awarded for a righteous life” (2 Timothy 4:8). Theapostle prayed earnestly to know Christ and to be like Him. “AllI want is to know Christ and to experience the power of Hisresurrection” (Philippians 3:10). What an objective! What agoal!

This should be our goal, too. This should be our prayer daily!This should be our objective as we worship in services and inprivate. God wants to complete His work in us. He can only dothis if we are willing. God does not want us to wait until we get


to heaven to be like Jesus. He wants to change us now—and Hewill if we will be faithful in worship and prayer.

16 What is needed before we can fulfill our part of God’s plan?

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There are several things we should pray for as we think ofthe time of Christ’s coming and of the end of the world.

1. We should pray to the owner of the harvest that He willsend out workers to gather in His harvest (Matthew 9:38).

2. We should pray that the good news about the kingdomwill be preached through all the world for a witness to allmankind and then the end will come (Matthew 24:14).

3. We should pray, “So be it. Come, Lord Jesus!”(Revelation 22:20) in answer to the words of Jesus, “Yesindeed! I am coming soon!”

17 Circle the letter to the left of each TRUE statement.a Jesus will return before the good news is preached

throughout the world.b As a believer we should fear Jesus’ return.c Workers are needed to gather in the harvest.d Jesus is coming again.

THE GLORY OF GOD’S KINGDOM

Objective 3. Compare Christ’s presence today in local assemblieswith Revelation 1:9-20.

Christ in the Assembly of Believers

We know that we shall see Christ in His glory when Hecomes. Today Christ’s glory is present with every gathering ofbelievers, and we can see His glory through worship.

God gave John a vision of Christ in the churches. We readabout it in Revelation 1:9-20. Jesus is pictured as the “LivingOne” who stands among the lampstands. The lampstands werethe seven churches of Asia.


It is still true what Jesus said in Matthew 18:20. He said,“Where two or three come together in my name, I am there withthem.” If we want to see Christ’s glory, we must meet togetherin His name. He will be there!

18 How is Jesus pictured in Revelation 1:9-20?

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In Hebrews 10:25, it says, “Let us not give up the habit ofmeeting together.” Something happens when believers meettogether. Christ comes! Those who do not “go to church” missthe chance of being there when Christ visits. He comes whereverbelievers meet in His name. He walks among the lampstands!The lampstands are churches, gatherings of believers! Just think!No matter how small or how large a group is, if they meet inJesus’ name, He is there! What a reason for worship and praise!What a reason for singing and rejoicing! Jesus approves ofbelievers meeting together. He visits them!

19 What happens when believers meet together?

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There are things that we should know about these visits byJesus to our gatherings. To each of the churches in Asia He saidthree things:

1. He said, “I am.”2. He said, “I know.”3. He said, “I will.”

He who walks among thelampstands is present everywhere (omnipresent). He knows allthings (omniscient), and He has power to do what He wills(omnipotent).

Christ in Acts of Worship

Christ is there as we sing. As our voices are lifted together insong, we can feel His Spirit move among us. “I will sing withmy spirit, but I will sing also with my mind” (1 Corinthians14:15). We often come to the house of God with our minds

I AM OMNIPRESENT

I KNOW OMNISCIENT

I WILL OMNIPOTENT


filled with many thoughts; thoughts that concern our homes, ourfriends, and our families. As we sing, our minds are turned fromearthly cares to thoughts of heaven and “things above,” and wereceive strength to face the tasks of life again!

Christ is there when we pray. “I will pray with my spirit, butI will pray also with my mind” (1 Corinthians 14:15). As weenter our room, forget those around us, and talk to Jesus, we canfeel Him by our side. We draw strength and blessing from Hispresence. As we hear those around us praying, our hearts arefilled with praise. We know Christ is walking among Hispeople!

Christ is there when the Word of God is preached. We canhear Him talking to us. We see the preacher, but we hear thevoice of Jesus. “If you have ears, then, listen to what the Spiritsays to the churches!” (Revelation 2:7). We should pray for ourpreachers. They are the ministers of His Word. We ought to prayfor them because the Spirit wants to speak to us through theirminds and lips!

20 What does 1 Corinthians 14:15 tell us to do?

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self-test

SHORT ANSWERS. Write the correct answer in the spaceprovided.

1 What two forms does the kingdom of God take?

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2 Name three places where evidences of the kingdom within uswill be seen.

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3 What important truth does Matthew 18:20 teach us about ourmeeting together in Jesus’ name?

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4 In what two ways does the church grow?

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5 Name the four commands of the “Great Commission.”

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6 What does 1 Thessalonians 4:18 tell us to do concerning theknowledge of Christ’s coming?

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7 What does Matthew 9:38 say we should pray for?

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8 What should Matthew 24:14 inspire us to pray for?

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9 How can we see Christ’s glory today?

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11 The call of God says, “Come.” The command of God says,“Go.” The “Come” is to Jesus. The “Go” is to take themessage to those who have not heard.

1 a True.b True.c True.d True.

12 To evangelize—tell men that Jesus is the Savior.

2 The kingdom of God is righteousness, and righteousness isof God.

13 Our death to sin, and that we are new people, sons of God,

3 a) a kingdom cannot last unless it is in the people’s hearts.

14 Christ’s love, His way of living, His Word.

4 righteousness, peace, joy (any order)

15 a False.b True.c True.d True.

5 To go anywhere to spread the gospel if God tells them thatthey are the ones to do it.

16 We must know Christ and be like Him.

6 a 3) Luke 17:21b 1) John 18:36c 2) Luke 17:20


7 In our homes, at our work, among our friends.

18 As the “Living One.”


8 b) the dead in Christ will rise first.

19 Christ comes.

9 a True.b False.c True.d False.

20 Sing with the spirit.Pray with the spirit.Sing with the mind.Pray with the mind.

10 The “Great Commission.”


For Your Notes

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“May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”Matthew 6:10

If God’s will is to be done on earth, it has to start in yourheart. Are you willing and ready to do God’s will?

Perhaps you are saying, “Tell me what God’s will is, andthen I can tell you whether I am willing to do it.” That is areasonable request, and God’s Word answers it.

God’s will is that you believe that Jesus is His Son and yourSavior. You say, “Oh, that is easy. I believe it. Is that all there isto the will of God?”

No, that is not all. Now comes the hard part. God wants allbelievers to be like Jesus. You say, “Be like Jesus! Who can belike Jesus?” You can! It is God’s will for you. The Holy Spiritwill help make it happen!

How is that? Well, everything that happens to you is “good”if it makes you like Jesus. That means trouble can be good foryou. How can this be? You will have to pray a lot to know whyGod lets things happen to you, won’t you?

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lesson outline

Praying for God’s WillPraying for His PlanPraying With the Spirit

Commitment to God’s WillLimited CommitmentTotal Commitment

Faith and God’s WillSome Questions About PrayerSome Prayers That Are Not AnsweredSome Things People Pray For

lesson objectives


• Develop an awareness of God’s plan in your life and theministry of the Spirit’s fulfillment of this plan.

• Understand the difference between “limited” and “total”commitment.

• Indicate how “limited” and “total” commitments affect ourworship and service to God.


• Be more effective in the prayers that you pray.

learning activities

1. Read the lesson objectives and key word list.

2. Read Genesis 11:1-9 and Acts 2:1 to find and comparedifferent kinds of unity in prayer and purpose.

3. Write an explanation of how it is possible to pray in error,using James 4:3 and Matthew 20:20-24 for references.

4. Read the lesson development section by section, answeringall the study questions and self-test questions.

key words

accordance paracletecommitment yieldconditions

lesson development

PRAYING FOR GOD’S WILL

Objective 1. State the two parts of the plan of God.

Objective 2. Explain how prayer will help you to do your part in theplan of God.

Must we pray about everything? You may ask, “Does Godhave a will for each thing I do every day? Does He have a willfor what shoes I should wear? Which route I should travel whengoing to work? Or what I should eat for lunch?” Does Godbother about such little things?

God knows every little thing we do. However, He has givenus a good mind with which to make decisions. It is not necessaryto pray about things that neither hinder nor help the plan of God.These are our decisions to make. We should ask, “Does thisaffect God’s plan? Does it strengthen my walk with God?” Thatis why God has given us a brain. He wants us to use it!

A Plan To Be Followed 99

1 Why is it unnecessary to pray about some things?

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However, some “little” things are not little because they doaffect the plan of God. If I say, “I don’t feel like praying today,” thatis no “little” thing. By not praying, I weaken my walk with God andfail to grow spiritually. But if I say, “I don’t feel like eating fishtoday,” that is a little thing, and it is not necessary to pray about it.Eating or not eating fish does not affect God’s plan.

2 Circle the letter to the left of each TRUE statement.a We should pray about everything we do.b God knows everything we do.c Things are not little that affect the plan of God.d God does not care about the little things we do.

Sometimes, however, God saves our lives through a feelinginside us that warns us not to go to some place or do something.This “feeling” is really the voice of the Spirit within us. Weneed to pay attention to these inner warnings. We need to knowhow to listen to the Spirit! You see, even though God has angelswho guard each of us, we still need to listen. Often, we find thatwe would have been injured if we had not listened to the Spirit.God’s angels protect those who listen.

So, in things that do not affect the kingdom of God, we canmake our own decisions. But we should always be listening forthe voice of the Spirit lest we make a wrong decision.

3 How does God sometimes warn us about danger?

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Praying for His Plan

We want to say here again what we are saying throughoutthis book. God has a plan and every believer should prayerfullyseek to follow it. Before we pray for anything else, we shouldthink of God’s plan and ask ourselves, “Am I doing what Godwants me to do today? Is my work part of His plan?”

God’s plan is not just for preachers. It is for everybody. It isjust as important for the clerk who sells cloth to know he is


following God’s plan as it is for the minister of the gospel toknow he is in God’s will.

4 Circle the letter to the left of each TRUE statement.a God has a plan and every believer should seek to follow it.b God’s plan is just for preachers.c A farmer should know God’s plan for his life.d We should pray before accepting a job.

So, when a job is offered to you, it would be right to pray aboutit before accepting it. But your decision should be based on whetherthe job helps you do God’s will—not on how much money you willbe paid. Some people accept jobs where there is no church justbecause the pay is better. Now, if you start a new church where yournew job is, then perhaps you are in the will of God. But if you takethe job and stop praying in the house of God, then you are doingwrong. It is better to take less pay than to be out of God’s will.

What is God’s will? Let us state it again. God’s will is that:

1. All men believe.2. All believers be like Jesus.

Jesus gave the Great Commission. Remember Matthew28:19-20. We talked about this in Lesson 5. Jesus was speakingto us about His will for those who had not heard the gospel.

5 What are the 4 things Jesus said to do in Matthew 28:19-20?

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This is the command of Jesus, and the will of God. All otherprayers are “little” prayers compared to prayers prayed for theplan of God. But to do the plan of God, we will need all kinds ofpeople. We will need:

People who can pray.People who can preach.People who can work and give.People who can teach.People who can witness to their neighbors.People who can witness to those in other lands.People who can build and work with their hands.People who can comfort those who are in trouble.


Oh, there are so many kinds of people who are needed indoing the plan of God. Each of us should pray to know whatGod wants us to do. We should also pray that others will givethemselves to work in God’s plan.

6 Name seven kinds of people who are needed to help in theplan of God.

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Praying With the Spirit

How can we know how to pray? How can we pray for peopleto be saved and for believers to be like Jesus when our ownfamilies have such great needs? We have children to feed,houses to build, bills to pay, clothes to buy, knowledge toobtain, and plans of our own. Is it possible to be more concernedabout the plan of God than about these other things?

The answer is, “Yes, it is, but you will need help!” WhenJesus went to heaven, He said He would send the Holy Spirit.One of the Holy Spirit’s names is “Paraclete,” which means“One called alongside to help.” Ah, that is just what we need!We need someone to help us do the right thing. We needsomeone to help us put first things first. We need someone toteach us how to pray, and that is exactly what the Holy Spirit hasbeen sent by Jesus to do!

7 “Paraclete” is another name fora) Jesus Christ.b) a white dove.c) the apostle Paul.d) the Holy Spirit.

We need the Holy Spirit. Do you know why? The Holy Spirithelps us pray for the right things. Listen to what the Bible saysin Romans 8:26-27: “In the same way the Spirit also comes tohelp us, weak as we are. For we do not know how we ought topray.” Think of it! That is quite a statement! We do not knowhow we ought to pray! “The Spirit himself pleads with God forus in groans that words cannot express. And God, who sees intoour hearts, knows what the thought of the Spirit is; because the


Spirit pleads with God on behalf of his people and inaccordance with His will.”

8 Why do we need the Holy Spirit’s help in prayer?

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Praise God! Now we have Someone to pray for us “inaccordance with His will.” That is exactly what we need! TheSpirit will not pray for selfish things. The Spirit will pray for:

1. All men to believe.2. All believers to be like Jesus.

We need to yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit and let Himpray for us and through us. Sometimes we feel a great need topray for lost men. Then the Spirit will pray through us in anunknown tongue. He will pray according to the will of God.Sometimes we know we have not been acting like Jesus, and wepray to be like Him. The Holy Spirit will help us because it isHis work to pray according to the will of God.

9 What is one way the Spirit prays for us?

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Of course, if we are going to pray about things for ourselves,we must not expect the Spirit to pray for us unless it issomething that concerns the plan of God. If we are praying formoney to help the work of God, the Spirit will help us. If we arepraying for a car with which to do God’s work, the Spirit willhelp us. But if we are praying selfishly, then we will have to doour own praying, because the Spirit’s work is to pray accordingto the plan of God!

COMMITMENT TO GOD’S WILL

Objective 3. Define “limited” and “total” commitment.

There is no happier place than in the center of God’s will. Whoare the unhappy people? Who are those who are never satisfied?Who are those whose lives are empty and without meaning? Whoare they? People who are not doing the will of God.


The unhappiest people in the world are those who thinkhappiness is to have everything they want, and to have their ownway. How deceived they are! They are the ones who have themost of this world’s goods, but have the least joy!

You see, you can’t measure happiness by the loudness of aman’s laughter, or by how many things he owns. Life is notmade of the things we own. A happy life is a life in which theplans and the kingdom of God are sought above everything else!

10 Where is the happiest place for the believer?

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Limited Commitment

Now let us talk about several important things concerninghow to pray. Some people say, “I’ll do your will if . . .” and thenthey list a lot of conditions. They say, “I’ll go—if there is ahouse there to live in.” Or they say, “I’ll go—if they pay enoughmoney.” Or, “I’ll go—if my mother can go with me.” Or, “I’llgo—if I can stay close to my home and gardens.”

Brother! Sister! Those are “limited” commitments. Thesepeople have said, “Yes,” and then have added the word, “if!”The Great Commission of Jesus will never be done by peoplewho say “if.” It will be done by people who say, “Here am I,Lord, send me”—with no conditions added!

11 Why can’t the Great Commission be obeyed by people whohave a limited commitment?

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In Psalm 78:41 (KJV) there is a verse that says two thingsabout God that seem impossible. It says, “They turned back andtempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.” They:

1. Tempted God2. Limited God

Can God be tempted? Can God be limited? Here is a truththat puts fear in our hearts, for it says that man can tempt andlimit God! How can an all-powerful God be limited?


Well, He could not be limited unless He agreed to be limited.But that is what God has done. He has included man in his plan.He has said, “I want to heal, but I will limit myself to the faith ofman.” Or, “I want to call that man to the ministry, but I willlimit myself to his willingness to go.”

What a thought! That means that even though God wills todo something, it may not be done unless God can find a manwho wants to do His will!

12 Read Psalm 78:41 (KJV) and state the two ways theIsraelites hindered God.

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We can limit God in salvation. It is not God’s will that anyshould perish, yet many do perish. Why? Because they do notsubmit their will to the will of God.

This is true of sickness. It is God’s will to heal sick people.Yet many remain sick, even when it is God’s will to heal them.Why? Because they do not put faith to be healed together withthe will of God for them. So they remain sick. They could behealed, but they have no faith that it could happen to them. Godis limited because they won’t believe!

We don’t know why God has chosen to do it this way in Hisplan, but that is the way it is. Think of it! See how important arethe faith and will of man!

He wants all men to be saved. All men will not be saved,however, because they do not submit their will to the will ofGod.

He wants all men to be like Jesus, but all men will not be likeJesus. Why? Because they are not willing to humble themselves.So God is limited, and they remain un-Christlike.

13 Circle the letter to the left of each TRUE statement.a It is God’s wills to heal sick people.b We can limit God.c We need to submit our will to the will of God.d All men will be saved.


Total Commitment

In the story of the tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9) it tellsthat men were all in one place with one language. They united inrebellion against God. They had unity and commitment, but itwas a unity of man without God and a commitment to rebellion.What happened? God confused their language, and they had toquit building.

14 Read Genesis 11:1-9. Tell why God confused the people’slanguage.

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In Acts 2:1-4 we read how the early Christians were alltogether in one place worshiping God. Suddenly there was anoise like a mighty wind and they were all filled with the HolySpirit and began to speak with tongues. This was the unity ofGod and man. What a unity it was!

When man’s will agrees with God’s will, miracles happen!The sick can be healed, the blind can see, the lame can walk.Why? Because the plan of God is working. God and man areagain walking and talking together!

This is the purpose of prayer and worship. Worship is talkingtogether with God in praise and thanksgiving. As we worship,God comes down and our hearts and wills move together! When


God’s heart and our hearts are united, anything can happen!Praise God!

15 What is the purpose of prayer and worship?

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Total commitment is the total union of two wills—God’swill and man’s will. It is not for us to ask God to change His willto ours. We must find His will and follow it. When we do, theGreat Commission will be done, and the world will hear thegood news about Jesus!

FAITH AND GOD’S WILL

Objective 4. List the three classes of things men pray for and statehow to pray concerning these things.

We will now sum up this unit on “The Priority of Worship.”Worship has to do with the things God is concerned about. Thethings that God is concerned with is what must always have priorityin our praying. Not that God doesn’t care about the other things wehave need of, because He does. He will provide them for us if onlywe will be concerned, above everything else, with the kingdom ofGod and with the things He requires of us (Matthew 6:33).

Some Questions About Prayer

You hear a lot said, these days, about the power of faith.Faith, they say, makes all things possible. The words of Jesusand of Paul are quoted, such as:

“For God everything is possible” (Matthew 19:26). “Ifyou have faith as big as a mustard seed, you can say tothis hill, ‘Go from here to there!’ and it will go. Youcould do anything!” (Matthew 17:20). “My God willsupply all your needs” (Philippians 4:19). “You will askfor anything you wish, and you shall have it” (John 15:7).

Are these portions of Scripture unlimited promises with no“ifs” added? Is poverty unnecessary since riches can be had forthe asking? Are the sick to be scolded for lack of faith? Is itwrong to add the words, “If it be Thy will,” to our prayers?


The foregoing questions must be answered if we are to prayas we ought.

16 Match the statement (left) to the correct Bible reference(right).

. . . . a God will supply all our needs.

. . . . b Ask for anything and you shallhave it.

. . . . c You can do anything if you havefaith as big as a mustard seed.

. . . . d Everything is possible for God.

1) John 15:72) Matthew 19:263) Philippians 4:194) Matthew 17:20

Let us consider the verses listed above. Are there notconditions to the truth of these statements? We believe there are.Each one of these verses has a requirement that goes with it. Thebeliever’s part of the promise is to obey His commandments,have faith, give unselfishly, and know the Word of God.Remember also that God will not answer a prayer which willhurt another child of God.

17 What are some of the conditions to God’s answering some ofour prayers?

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Examine the verse “You will ask for anything you wish, andyou shall have it” (John 15:7). Is this, then, a promise thatcovers every case? Is it an invitation to ask for and receiveeverything for which our minds could wish? Is this anunconditional (no “if”) promise? We do not believe that it is.

If it were, we could ask that our house would clean itselfevery day. We could ask that everybody in the world be wealthy.We could ask that none of our family die. A “no limit” claim tothis promise would mean that, given enough faith, all the abovethings would happen!

You are probably saying, “Don’t be foolish! God doesn’tanswer that kind of praying.” We agree. God doesn’t answer thatkind of praying. But to admit that He doesn’t answer that kind of


praying is to admit that the promise, “nothing shall beimpossible unto you,” is a limited one. There are some things forwhich we should not pray!

18 Circle the letters to the left of each TRUE statementa There are some prayers we should not pray.b There are requirements to some of God’s promises.c God has promised to supply all our wants.d John 15:7 is a limited promise.

Now let us consider Paul’s promise, in Philippians 4:19, “MyGod will supply all your needs.” This is a glorious promise, butit is limited by the word “needs.” There is often a big differencebetween a man’s wants and a man’s needs.

Who wouldn’t want an expensive home? Who wouldn’t wanta lot of money? Who wouldn’t want a healthy body? Whowouldn’t want success and fame? Who wouldn’t want to behandsome or beautiful?

Can we use Paul’s words to justify asking for these things? Ithink not. God has promised to supply our needs; but, our ideaof what our needs are may not be the same as what Godconsiders to be our needs. We can ask for them in prayer, but weare going to have to trust God. He knows what is good for us.We are going to have to add the words, “If it be Thy will,” toour prayer.

“You will ask for anything you wish, and you shall have it”(John 15:7) is another glorious promise. But it is also limited.The promise starts with the words, “If ye remain in me and mywords remain in you . . . .” Conditions!

19 What are the conditions added to John 15:7?

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Some Prayers That Are Not Answered

Let’s study about two men of faith who asked what theywilled, and it was not done unto them. Jesus prayed, “If youwill, take this cup of suffering away from me” (Luke 22:42).Can anyone say that Jesus lacked faith? Why, then, did not God


take away from Jesus the cup ofsuffering? The reason is that itwas God’s will to save menthrough His Son’s death on thecross. Was Jesus’ faith weakbecause His whole being criedout against the curse of“becoming sin for us?” Never!He was neither wrong nor weak.In fact, Jesus was strong, for He yielded His own will to the willof His Father. As son of man, He did not want to suffer and die.As Son of God, He did not want to be made sin. But, above all,Jesus wanted to do His Father’s will. This was the success ofHis perfect praying. We too, can learn to be successful in prayer.

Naturally, we would rather be rich than poor.Naturally, we would rather be healthy than sick.Naturally, we would rather stay at home than go far away.Naturally, we would rather live than die.

But, as children of God, we would rather do the Father’swill above all else! That is why we can say, with Jesus,“Nevertheless, not my will but Thine be done.”

20 What was the success of Jesus’ praying?

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Paul was a man of faith. Yet not all of his prayers wereanswered. A painful physical ailment troubled him. It wassomething he prayed that God would take away. What greaterman of faith was there than Paul? “Ask what ye will,” was apromise to Paul as well as to us. So, he prayed. Three times heprayed. And three times God answered, “My grace is all youneed, for my power is strongest when you are weak”(2 Corinthians 12:9).

21 Name two people of faith who prayed and their prayers werenot answered according to their asking.

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All of the examples prove one thing. Every prayer we pray,every promise we claim, should be according to the will of God.Any prayer that is prayed against His will, or fails to work withit, is not acceptable to God. This kind of praying is a misuse ofHis promises. “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,”must always be our priority in prayer.

This makes the knowing of God’s will of first importance.We know two things that are always God’s will. When we prayfor them, we do not have to say, “If it be Thy will.” They are:

1. May Your holy name be honored.2. May Your kingdom come.

We know that it would be wrong to pray for anything thatwould be against these two things in God’s will. In other words,“Ask anything in My name,” cannot be used to ask for personalglory. I cannot ask that my own name receive glory and at thesame time honestly be seeking the glory of God’s name.

22 Circle the letter to the left of each TRUE statementa It is God’s will for His name to be honored.b It is right to pray for personal glory.c Knowing God’s will is important when we pray.d We should pray according to the will of God.

Again God’s will is that all men be saved and becomecitizens of His kingdom. It is also His will that all citizens of Hiskingdom be conformed to the image of His Son. Any prayer thatdefeats this plan of God cannot be one of the, “If you believeyou will receive whatever you ask” kind of prayer. Thesepromises are not unlimited. They must be prayed for accordingto God’s will.

How, then, should we pray? “Please save ‘John Doe’.” Noneed to say, “If it be Thy will,” because we know it is God’s willto save all men. Of course, ‘John Doe’ can refuse God’s will. Tobe saved, a person’s will must agree with God’s will.

“Please make me like Jesus.” No need to say, “If it be Thywill,” since we know that God wants His children to be like HisSon. Jesus’ desire for God’s will led Him through suffering and


self-denial. It took Him to the cross. Do we honestly want to belike Jesus? Are we willing to face a cross so that we might beChrist-like? “He made himself poor for your sake, in order tomake you rich by means of his poverty” (2 Corinthians 8:9). Arewe willing to be poor for the sake of those who have yet to knowthe “riches” of His salvation? Are we willing to deny ourselvesto leave our father and mother for His sake that His will mightbe done?

23 What did Jesus have to go through to do God’s will?

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“You do not have what you want because you do not askGod for it” Those are the words of Jesus. Then he adds, “Andwhen you ask, you do not receive it, because your motives arebad; you ask for things to use for your own pleasures” (James4:3). How does it fit together with, “Ask what you will and itshall be given unto you?” It only fits together if our will isyielded to God’s will. But don’t expect answers to prayers thatare selfish. Don’t expect answers to prayers that do not honorHis name. Our prayer must be in keeping with God’s will.Otherwise God cannot answer that prayer.

24 Why do some who pray receive no answer to their prayers?

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Some Things People Pray For

Now, what does this mean in terms of asking for the manythings we want? Is it wrong to ask for nice things? Hasn’t Godinvited us to ask? We can say that things people pray for fallinto three classes:

1. Things we have no right to ask for, because we knowthey are not God’s will.

2. Things we are not sure of, about which, when we pray,we should add the words, “If it be Thy will.”

3. Things we are sure are God’s will and for which we neednot add the words, “If it be Thy will.”


Things like selfish living, carnal pleasures, and self-glory areamong the first. These are forbidden. We should not bother topray for them. We know those things are against God’s will.

Second, there are the doubtful things about which we shouldpray, “If it be Thy will.” Success in business, comfortableliving, fame, a beautiful girl for a wife . . . these things are onlyproper objects of faith if they are in keeping with the will ofGod. We need to pray about these things and then be willing toaccept God’s answer.

The third group concerns things about which God hasalready declared to be His will. We have stated that it is alwaysHis will that His name be honored and that His kingdom come.It is also His will that none should perish, but that all should besaved. Whenever we are seeking the salvation of the lost, it isnot necessary to pray, “If it be Thy will.”

25 What are three classes of things about which people pray?

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But are healing and deliverance God’s will? Do they belongto the second or the third group? We believe they belong to thesecond group, and that prayers for healing and deliveranceshould be limited with the words, “If it be Thy will.” Why?Because the lost cannot be reached without suffering andsacrifice, and becoming like Christ sometimes is only possiblethrough the patience and humility that sickness requires. God’skingdom and God’s glory are more important than our wants,our glory, and our comfort. There are times when we cannothave both.

So, divine healing and deliverance may not always be God’swill. A good example is the eleventh chapter of Hebrews. Halfof the men of faith were delivered. Half were not delivered.Those who were not delivered had no less faith than those whowere delivered.

We’ve mentioned Paul. He was not delivered from his pain.By submitting to God’s will, God’s power was strong becausePaul was weak.


We’ve mentioned Jesus. He was not delivered from thecross. But by submitting to God’s will, He made possible thesalvation of all men.

Please don’t misunderstand. God does heal and deliver. “We arehealed by the punishment He suffered, made whole by the blows Hereceived” (Isaiah 53:5). Jesus healed those who came to Him. Hehealed the lame man and the blind man. Daniel was delivered fromthe lions. The three Hebrew children were delivered from the fire. Itis right to pray for these things. We are only pointing out that God’swill must be sought above our will in these matters. His glory andHis kingdom are far more important than our comfort and ourwants. We must always be prepared for the cross of self-denial thatgoes with following Jesus.

26 Read Isaiah 53:5 and state what Jesus’ punishment andbeating did for us.

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Let us finish by saying that total joy and contentment canonly be found in the center of God’s will. A man in the center ofGod’s will can sing while suffering. A man in the center ofGod’s will can pray, “Father, forgive them,” while He ishanging on a cross. Paul was in the center of God’s will when hesaid, “My God will supply all your needs” (Philippians 4:19).He was bound with chains in a Roman jail. John was in thecenter of God’s will when he wrote, “I pray that everything maygo well with you and that you may be ingood health—as I know you are well inspirit” (3 John 2). He was on the lonelyisland of Patmos where hunger, hate andpoverty could not rob him of the riches ofglory in Christ Jesus. Blessed is the man who has learned topray, “May Your holy name be honoured . . . may Yourkingdom come . . . may Your will be done on earth as it is inheaven” (Matthew 6:10, KJV).

27 What can be found in the center of God’s will?

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YOUR NAME YOUR KINGDOM YOUR WILL


self-test


1 State the two main things that are God’s will.

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2 How does the Spirit pray when praying for us?

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3 How can God be limited in answering our prayers?

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4 Write two examples of limiting the fulfillment of God’s plan.

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5 Read Acts 2:1-4. Tell what happened when the peopleprayed together.

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6 What happens when man’s will in prayer agrees with God’swill?

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7 Name three classes of things for which men pray.

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14 Because they were united without God in a commitment ofrebellion.

1 God has given us a good mind to make decisions aboutthings that do not hinder or help the plan of God.

15 Talking together with God in praise and thanksgiving.


16 a 3) Philippians 4:19.b 1) John 15:7.c 4) Matthew 17:20.d 2) Matthew 19:26.

3 By a feeling inside—the inner voice of the Spirit.

17 Obeying His commandments, having faith, givingunselfishly, knowing His Word.


18 a True.b True.c False.d True.

5 Go, disciple, baptize, teach.

19 If you remain in Christ and His words remain in you.

6 Those who pray, those who preach, those who work, thosewho give, those who build, those who comfort, and thosewho witness.

20 He wanted to do His Father’s will.

7 d) the Holy Spirit


21 Jesus, Paul.

8 We do not know how to pray as we ought.


9 By unknown tongues, in groans that words cannot express.

23 Suffering and self-denial.

10 In the center of the will of God.

24 They ask for things to use for their own pleasures.

11 Because they will only obey if their conditions are met.

23 Those things that are contrary to God’s will.Those things which may or may not be according to God’s will.Those things that are clearly God’s will.

12 They tempted God.They limited God.

26 We are healed, we are made whole.

13 a True.b True.c True.d False.

27 Total joy and contentment.


For Your Notes

Unit ThreeNNNNeeeeeeeedddds s s s MMMMeeeettttThThThThrorororouuuugh Pgh Pgh Pgh Prayrayrayrayeeeerrrr

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LeLeLeLesssssssson on on on 7777SSSSuuuupppppppporororort Nt Nt Nt Needs Supplieeeds Supplieeeds Supplieeeds Suppliedddd

“Give us today the food we need”Matthew 6:11

“Give us.” Now, that sounds much more like the prayers weare used to praying! Give me food! Give me a house! Give me ajob! Give me money! Give me, give me, give me! This is theonly kind of prayer some people know how to pray. In fact, theydo not pray at all until they need something, and then the onlything they say is, “Give me!”

What a shame! These people think that all God is good for isto give them the things they want. They see God as a storagehouse or grainery where supplies are kept. They go to Him onlywhen they need something.

God has promised to supply all our needs. He has enoughfood for everybody. But, God wants us to seek Him because welove Him, and not because of what we want Him to give us.

You see, there is something God wants that only we can giveHim. He wants our love and our worship. He rewards those whoseek Him (Hebrews 11:6).

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lesson outline

A Matter of DesireUsing GodThings That Unbelievers SeekThings to Follow After

A Matter of AbundanceThe Amount of FaithA Channel of Blessing

A Matter of AskingMotivation of LawMotivation of Love

lesson objectives


• Recognize the relationship of prayer and worship to our needsbeing supplied by God.

• Explain the “gift of sharing with others.”

• Recognize the responsibilities and the benefits for service this“gift of sharing with others” makes possible.

• Compare the motives men have for giving, and examine yourown motives for giving.


learning activities

1. Draw the first two illustrations used in this lesson andexplain them.

2. Read 1 Corinthians 9:14 and explain the “way” that Paul wasreferring to. Also read Numbers 18:21-24 and Leviticus27:30.

3. If you desire the “gift of sharing with others” do not waituntil you have an abundance, but begin by sharing the littleyou have with someone in need today.

4. Pray over your food at every meal and ask God to bless it.

5. Do the lesson development section by section. Write theanswers to the study questions and self-test.

key words

channel pagan stewardshipmeans steward support

lesson development

A MATTER OF DESIRE

Objective 1. Explain how seeking God’s kingdom assures us thatour “support” needs will be met.

The next four lessons speak of the needs of men. Jesusmentioned food, forgiveness, testing and deliverance. In thislesson we will study the need for food or, as we will call it,“support.” Support means all the things we need for living: food,clothes, education, homes, money, etc. We want to show thatGod will provide the things we need if we will be concernedabove everything else with His kingdom.

1 What does the word support refer to in this lesson?

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God cares about our needs. When we pray, He listens. “We aresure that he hears us if we ask him for anything that is according to

Support Needs Supplied 123

his will” (1 John 5:14). So, we may pray for “anything” if we addthe words, “If the Lord is willing” (James 4:15). It is not wrong towant “things.” It is only wrong to continue to want them when weknow it is not God’s will that we have them.

2 When is it wrong to want “things”?

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When we pray for “things,” it is good to remember thefollowing:

• We are not trying to make God care. God is love. He ismore concerned about our needs than even we are. Hewants to help us.

• We are not telling God something He does not know.Before we ask, He knows what things we have need of.He says we should not use “meaningless words” when wepray. (Matthew 6:7)

• We are not asking for something He cannot do. There isnothing impossible with God.

“But,” you may ask, “if God cares more than we do, and ifHe knows before we ask; and if He has the power to answer,then why is it necessary for us to pray? Why doesn’t Godprovide our needs without our asking?”

The answer is one of the great wonders of God’s plan. Godhas chosen to work with men in all that He does. It is not God’swill to help man unless man is willing to be helped. That is whyit is necessary for us to pray and have faith. That is how we“untie” the hands of God. We put our will with His will, andGod answers our prayer!

3 When we pray for “things” we should remember Goda) is not interested in our praying about our needs.b) knows what we need before we ask.c) always provides for us without our asking.

Asking for things is only a small part of praying. Praise,worship, and thanksgiving should come first. His name, His


kingdom, and His will must have priority. That is how Jesusprayed. He didn’t spend much time asking for “things.” WhenHe asked, His prayers were short and simple. He didn’t beg Godfor anything. He knew that, if He sought God’s will aboveeverything else, His needs would be supplied.

Using God

Let us now apply our teaching to “support” needs. They willbe “added” if we are concerned about the kingdom of God aboveeverything else. But we must be careful. We must not seek thekingdom of God as a “means” of getting “support.”

Some people say, “If you will put God first, then you will geta good job.” Or, “If you will pay your tithes, then you will berich.” Or, “If you pray much, you will succeed in school.” Now,think! Is there anything wrong with that kind of talk? Yes, thereis something wrong with that kind of talk. Don’t you see? Youare “using” God to get something you want. You are not seekingGod—you are seeking a job, riches, or success. You are usingGod to get “support.”

4 What is wrong with the prayer of the seeker in the aboveillustration?

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When Jesus fed the people, they followed Him. He said,“You are looking for me because you ate the bread and had allyou wanted” (John 6:26). Later He said, “I am the bread of life.He who comes to me will never be hungry” (John 6:35). Finally,in John 6:66, it says, “many of Jesus’ followers turned back andwould not go with Him any more.” Jesus wanted the people toseek Him. The people were only seeking bread!


5 Read John 6:26-66. Why did the people leave Jesus?

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Things That Unbelievers Seek

Children of God should not be like unbelievers in theirseeking. Jesus said, “Man cannot live on bread alone” (Matthew4:4). He said this to the devil who was tempting Him to use thepower of God to get food for Himself.

Life is more than a job. It is more than eating. That is whyJesus taught us to pray for the things that are more important.

He said, “Do not store up riches for yourselves here onearth” (Matthew 6:19).

Jesus said, “You cannot serve both God and money”(Matthew 6:24).

He said, “I tell you: do not be worried about the food anddrink you need” (Matthew 6:25).

Then, in Matthew 6:31-34, Jesus said words that showed thedifference between the believer and the unbeliever—betweenthe child of God and the child of the devil. He said, “So do notworry about tomorrow; it will have enough worries of its own.There is no need to add to the troubles each day brings.”

6 Circle the letter to the left of each TRUE statement.a A man cannot serve both God and money.b A man should first of all store up riches for himself on earth.c A man should not be worried about food and drink.d A man is a pagan if he is concerned about food.

Things to Follow After

Jesus continued His talk by saying, “Instead, be concernedabove everything else with the Kingdom of God and with whathe requires of you, and he will provide you with all these otherthings” (Matthew 6:33).


Note! The believer seeks the kingdom of God. The food,drink, and clothes are the things that are added! Like this:

Now all this sounds very good. But will it work? Will the manwho is concerned about the kingdom of God above everything elsereally be provided for? Shouldn’t he be concerned about his living?Surely God knows we have to support our families and eat! Is itwrong to earn money? Is it wrong to save money? Are we to beunconcerned about our wives and our children?

Friend, let me assure you. God is concerned about yourneeds. He cares. God is love, and He cares more than any humanbeing can care. So, He wants you to care also. He wants you tosupport your family. He wants you to love and look after yourwife and children. In fact, it is because He cares that He hastaught us to pray in the right manner. It is by following His wayof praying that all these things that we need are provided for us.

Romans 14:17-19 helps us understand more of what Jesuswas teaching. Paul says, “God’s Kingdom is not a matter ofeating and drinking, but of the righteousness, peace, and joywhich the Holy Spirit gives. And when someone serves Christ inthis way, he pleases God and is approved by others. So then, wemust always aim at those things that bring peace and that help tostrengthen one another.”

7 Circle the letter to the left of each TRUE statement. Romans14:17-19 says:a God’s Kingdom is not a matter of eating and drinking.b the kingdom of God is love.c aim at those things that bring peace.

What both Jesus and Paul were teaching is that we should“aim for” or “be concerned above everything else about” themore important “things.” If we do, God will take care of the


other “things.” If we follow the kingdom, the food will followus! God will make sure that it does! Does that sound foolish andsimple? It is not foolish, but it is simple . . . if you have faith!

Those who follow “all theseother things” are never satisfied.They are like the woman at thewell, who had to come back dayafter day to satisfy her thirst. Jesussaid, “Whoever drinks the waterthat I will give him will never bethirsty again” (John 4:14). Hespoke of a better way to live thanfollowing after food and drink.

Those who follow after the kingdom of God have thepromise that God will provide their needs “day by day.”Kingdom-of-God faith is a “day by day” faith! We pray, “Giveus today the food we need” (Matthew 6:11).

A MATTER OF ABUNDANCE

Objective 2. State the meaning of the “gift of sharing.”

Objective 3. Describe the kind of people to whom God gives the“gift of sharing with others.”

The Amount of Faith

Romans 12:3 says for each of us to judge ourselvesaccording to the “amount of faith” that God has given us. Allbelievers have been given faith by God to help them do theirpart in the plan of God. Some are given more faith than others.Some gifts require greater faith than others.

8 Circle the letter to the left of each TRUE statement.a God gives the same faith to all men.b Every believer has faith given to him by God.c Some gifts require greater faith than others.

God has told us to “Set our hearts, then, on the more importantgifts” (1 Corinthians 12:31). Important gifts require much prayer


if we are to use them properly. Some gifts make men proud. Thatis why God allowed Paul to have a painful physical ailment, “Tokeep me from being puffed up with pride because of the manywonderful things I saw” (2 Corinthians 12:7).

There is a gift that God has given which causes manytemptations that we now want to talk about. It is the gift ofsharing with others (Romans 12:8), and it is given to only a few.Why? Let us talk about it.

9 Why do gifts require much prayer?

.......................................................................................................

A Channel of Blessing

The Lord had some strong words to say about rich men. Hesaid that, “It is much harder for a rich person to enter theKingdom of God than for a camel to go through the eye of aneedle” (Matthew 19:24). Those are strong words, indeed!

In James 5:1-6 we are told of rich men who have gotten theirriches by not paying their laborers. Then, after having gottentheir riches by cheating the workers, they piled up their moneyand did not use it for any good purpose! “Your gold and silverare covered with rust, and this rust will be a witness against youand will eat up your flesh like fire. You have piled up riches inthese last days” (v. 3).

The sin of these rich men was not that they were rich. It wasthe sin of getting their riches by cheating other people. It was thesin of using their riches selfishly, and not using them to do good.

10 Is it a sin to be rich? Explain.

.......................................................................................................

Not many people can resist the selfish living that riches bring.“But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and are caughtin the trap of many foolish and harmful desires” (1 Timothy 6:9).So, for most people, God supplies only what they need. Because,if they get too much, they get an appetite for “things” and oftenforget to be concerned about the kingdom of God.


There are a few believers that God can trust to use richesproperly for His kingdom. To them, He gives the gift of “sharingwith others.” What a gift this is, but how much praying itrequires to use it properly.

There are godly men who know how to make money. If theyare concerned above everything else with the kingdom of God,God will bless their businesses. These godly men do not makethe mistake of the rich men in James 5:1-6. They do not cheat toget their riches. They do not pile them up and use them selfishly.They consider themselves servants of God who are entrusted byHim to use the riches for His Kingdom. Men with this giftprovide the money that is required to do God’s work. They arelike a pipe with water running through it. They are a channel ofblessing.

11 How should a rich man feel about his money?

.......................................................................................................

People with the “gift of sharing with others” do not keep theriches for themselves, but they let the riches flow through theirhands to the work of the kingdom.

It is important to know that the same rule applies to poor men asto rich men. A “poor” man who gets his money by cheating is asbad as a rich man who gets his money by cheating. A “poor” manwho uses his pennies selfishly is as bad as a rich man who uses hisriches selfishly. The important thing is not the amount of moneythat you give. It is the heart with which you give it and yourwillingness to part with it. For example, the poor widow who gaveonly a penny gave all she had (Mark 12:42-44). Jesus said that her“gift of sharing” was greater than that of the rich men. Why?Because they gave of their riches. They had plenty left forthemselves! The widow gave of her poverty. She gave all she had!

The widow gave all she had! That is the secret of the “gift ofsharing.” It becomes easy to give when we make Christ themaster over all. We then give at His command. God is lookingfor men who can be trusted to use money—whether it is much orlittle—for His kingdom. To them, He gives the “gift of sharing!”


12 What is the secret of giving?

.......................................................................................................

A MATTER OF ASKING

Objective 4. Illustrate how to worship through tithing andstewardship.

Money seems to be the answer to many needs. The love ofmoney is the root of all evil, but money itself is not evil. The useof our money is a good test of our priorities . . . and of ourspiritual life.

13 Read 1 Timothy 6:10. What is the source of all kinds of evil?

.......................................................................................................

Motivation of Law

Every believer should return to God a tenth of his income.This is called tithing. But why should a believer tithe? Should hedo it because the Bible teaches tithing? Should he do it becausetithing is the law of his church? Why should believers tithe?What should be their motive in tithing? Tithing is a form ofworshiping God. We tithe because we love God and want tothank Him for providing for us. Giving is worshiping.Worshiping is giving! Worshiping is not only giving of ourwords but of our money also.

14 A believer should tithe becausea) the law requires it.b) he will get rich by doing it.c) he is motivated by his love for

God to do it.d) he is ashamed not to do it.

Some people tithe because theBible teaches us that we should doso. This is true, the Bible does teach us to tithe.

Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek, who was a type ofChrist (Genesis 14:20).


Jacob paid tithes before Moses was given the law (Genesis28:22).

Malachi said that a man who didn’t pay tithes was robbingGod (Malachi 3:8).

15 The Bible says thata) Abraham paid tithes to Christ.b) Jacob tithed before the Law was given.c) Moses was the first man to tithe.

Jesus said, “You will be able to enter the Kingdom of heavenonly if you are more faithful than the teachers of the Law andthe Pharisees in doing what God requires” (Matthew 5:20).

The Pharisees paid tithes. We will have to be more faithful thanthey! They only paid tithes because the law said they should. Ifthere had been no law, they would not have paid tithes! ThePharisees paid tithes, but they did not do it willingly. They only didas much as the law required. Their motives were wrong.

The Pharisees were much like some Christians today. SomeChristians want the blessings that tithing brings, but they are notconcerned about the One who blesses! They “use” God as a“means” to their own “ends!” They know the promise of God tothose who tithe, so they give one-tenth of their income, hopingthat God will make them rich. Then God does bless them, for Hedoes not break His promises. However, their motives are wrongand when your motives are wrong you miss the greater blessingthat unselfish giving brings.

16 Believers can be more faithful than the Pharisees when theygivea) to be seen of men.b) because of love.c) to get a reward.

Motivation of Love

You can tithe and not worship. But you can’t worship andnot tithe. Worship will cause the believer to give more than atithe. In fact, when a person is concerned about the kingdom of


God above everything else, he gives himself and all that he hasto God! He becomes a steward of the money he receives, anduses all of it according to the will of God. He says, “It is allYours, Lord, and I am Yours, too. Use me and my money asYou will!” This is stewardship! A steward belongs to his master.He has no wealth of his own. He is responsible for his master’swealth, and uses it as his mastercommands. The steward does notworry about himself because heknows that his master will supply allhis needs. He knows that hismaster’s wealth is far greater thanhis own and that, if he is faithful, hewill lack nothing. What a beautifulpicture of Christ providing for thebelievers. Our Master takes care ofus—He supplies our needs. We inturn have a responsibility to becareful stewards of our Master’swealth. We must always rememberthat everything we own rightfullybelongs to God. He is the Creator ofall things including our money.

So, what we are saying in this lesson is that a believer who isconcerned above everything else with God’s kingdom and gloryhas nothing to worry about for his “support.” His whole life is alife of worship and praise. God will care for him!

We are also saying that you cannot separate prayer andworship from a believer’s walk. Proper praying will change ourattitude. We will not worry about our needs. As we prayerfullyseek above all else the kingdom of God, He will supply ourevery need.

17 In what way is a believer a steward?

.......................................................................................................


self-test


1 Why doesn’t God provide our needs without our asking?

.......................................................................................................

2 What two things should we remember when praying forthings?

.......................................................................................................

3 Why does the “gift of sharing with others” require muchprayer?

.......................................................................................................

4 How can believers exceed the faithfulness of the Pharisees?

.......................................................................................................

5 How can the use of money be a test of our spiritual life?

.......................................................................................................

6 State three things about a steward.

.......................................................................................................

7 How will proper praying affect our attitudes toward support?

.......................................................................................................



9 To know how to use them properly.

1 All the things we need for living—food, clothes, homes,money, etc.

10 No, it is not a sin to be rich. But rich men need to be carefulthat they have not obtained their money dishonestly and richmen must be careful not to become selfish.

2 When we continue to want them when we know it is notGod’s will that we have them.

11 That he is a servant of God entrusted by Him to use hisriches for the Kingdom.

3 b) knows what we need before we ask.

12 When Christ is master over all we have, it is then easy togive at His command.

4 The one praying is not seeking God, he is seeking supportneeds.

13 The love of money.

5 They only wanted the bread He gave them.

14 c) he is motivated by his love for God to do it.

6 a True.b False.c True.d False.

15 b) Jacob tithed before the Law was given.

7 a True.b False.c True.

16 b) because of love.


8 a False.b True.c True.

17 His work is to worship and obey his master, and to trust themaster to provide his support.

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“Forgive us the wrongs we have done, as we forgive thewrongs that others have done to us”Matthew 6:12

This lesson is a sobering one. We set the conditions for ourown forgiveness! Can it be that we can lose God’s forgivenessby refusing to forgive others? Won’t God be faithful to forgiveeven if we are unfaithful? The answer is, “No, not if these wordsrecorded in the Bible are true.” And they are true!

Is it possible to pray with an unforgiving spirit and expectGod to answer? Can we really worship God and at the same timehate our brother? Can we pray for people we really don’t like?Can we worship the Creator of all men and then refuse toevangelize all men of other races, nations, and tribes?

Prayer and worship do affect our attitude toward others.Think about it! As human beings we have certain “social” needsthat must be met. What is the purpose of prayer and worship if itcannot help us love our neighbors?

137

lesson outlineThe Conditions for Forgiveness

Praying for God’s ForgivenessPraying for Grace to Forgive

The Conditions for PeaceThe Cross of ManThe Yoke of Christ

lesson objectivesWhen you have finished this lesson you should be able to:

• Recognize how forgiveness from God is related to ourforgiveness of others.

• Explain what the cross of man is and how to bear it throughprayer and worship.

learning activities1. Read the course objectives in the beginning of this book once

again, and see if you can do all that has been suggested there.

2. Learn Matthew 6:14-15 and Matthew 11:28-30.


3. Review the self-test questions in Unit 2 on “The Priority ofWorship.”

4. Look over the key word list for each lesson and see if youhave learned the meaning of words you did not know.

key wordsnation-centeredrace-centeredsocialtribe-centered

lesson development

THE CONDITIONS FOR FORGIVENESS

Objective 1. Describe the conditions for forgiveness as Jesus statedthem in Matthew 6:14-15.

The relationship of forgiveness to prayer and worship is veryclear in the teaching of Jesus. He referred to it when He prayed,and made special mention of it after His prayer.

Anyone can love his friends, and most people can forgivethose they love. But the forgiveness Jesus was talking about inMatthew 6:14-15 was forgiveness to those who have wrongedus. He did not say “friends” who have wronged us. He just said“those who have wronged us.” That would include those who areenemies and those who refuse to say, “I’m sorry!”

1 Why is the forgiveness that Jesus taught difficult?

.......................................................................................................

Notice, too, He didn’t say, “Forgive us as we ask forgivenessof those whom we have wronged.” No, it was the other way. Weare to forgive those who have done the wrong. We are to askGod to forgive us. As a Christian we should also ask those wehave offended to forgive us. God’s forgiveness to us is not basedon our asking people to forgive us. It is based on forgivingothers, whether they ask forgiveness or not. It may be they haverefused to ask forgiveness of both us and God. That makes nodifference, though, as to what we ought to do. We must forgivethem if we want to be forgiven by God!

Social Needs Satisfied 139

2 Circle the letter to the left of each TRUE statement.a We should forgive those who have wronged us.b We should forgive only if others forgive us.c We should only forgive our friends who have wronged us.d We should wait to forgive until men say, “I’m sorry.”

It can be easy to forgive a man who says, “I’m sorry.” But it isvery hard to forgive someone who refuses to repent. In fact, youcannot do it by yourself. The human spirit is not a forgiving spirit.That is why prayer and worship are so important in the matter offorgiveness. Our relationship to God must be right before ourrelationship with men can be right. That is why we say that theforgiveness of those who have wronged us comes by beingconcerned, above everything else, with the kingdom of God. Then,and only then, are we able to forgive those who have wronged us. Itis one of the things added to those who put the kingdom first. It isone of the things God helps us to do if we worship Him above allelse. So, forgiving those who have wronged us is done in this way:

3 Why do we need to pray in order to forgive?

.......................................................................................................

Strange, isn’t it? You would think that because Jesus wassaying we should forgive others, that is what we should seek.Then it would look like this:

This looks like the right way except for one thing. We are notseeking forgiveness from those who have wronged us. We arebeing asked by God to forgive them! We are not seekingforgiveness from others. We are seeking to forgive others! Andthat is why this last illustration is wrong. You cannot forgiveothers by yourself. It isn’t natural and it isn’t human. It requireshelp from above. It takes God’s help. So, we return to our first


illustration for the answer. Seek God’s kingdom and God’sglory, and He will help you forgive even your enemies. He willalso forgive you!

4 In which way do the two illustrations differ?

.......................................................................................................

Praying for God’s Forgiveness

Of course, life as a believer starts with faith and forgivenessfrom God. The sinner seeks forgiveness. God forgives himwhether he has forgiven others or not. He forgives him becausehe believes—not because he stops sinning!

But once the sinner believes, he is no longer a sinner! He isa believer. Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:5-13 were to thebelievers! Jesus says, “Be concerned above everything elsewith the Kingdom of God . . . and he will provide you with allthese other things” (Matthew 6:33). That’s how forgiveness toothers is made possible. God will provide the power and graceto do it!

5 When the sinner seeks forgiveness from God, he is forgivenbecausea) he forgives others.b) of his faith.c) he stops sinning.

6 When a believer seeks forgiveness from God, he is forgivenbecause hea) forgives others.b) forgives himself.c) stops sinning.

Praying for Grace to Forgive

Have you been carrying hate in your heart? Are there peopleyou are refusing to forgive? Are you calling yourself a Christianbut not acting like a child of God? Do not deceive yourself. Donot go on another day with bitterness and an unforgiving spirit.Ask to be made more like Jesus. Ask for a spirit of forgiveness.Ask for a spirit of love. Ask for a spirit of peace. Ask for a spiritof righteousness. Ask for a spirit of joy. Ask for grace toforgive—to be Christlike!


That is what Jesus meant by saying that we should beconcerned about God’s kingdom above everything else. Thekingdom of God is the righteousness, peace, and joy the HolySpirit gives. Get the kingdom within you, and you will receivethe grace to forgive others!

7 What should a person do if he has bitterness in his heart?

.......................................................................................................

THE CONDITIONS FOR PEACE

Objective 2. Write a statement explaining how Christ can make “thecross of man” easy to bear.

It is not easy to live at peace with all men. Every man isdifferent. Tribes are different. Nations are different. Races aredifferent. Cultures are different. The world is made up of manyclasses of men—the unwise and the wise, the rich and the poor,etc. I repeat, living at peace with all men is not easy.

World leaders struggle with this problem constantly, but theymake very little progress. Man rises against man, wife againsthusband, children against parents, nation against nation. Whereis the answer to peace? The answer is in letting Jesus help usbear our crosses.

The Cross of Man

Jesus said, “If any man will come after me, let him denyhimself, and take up his cross. . . ” (Matthew 16:24 KJV). Thecross of man is self-denial. Self-denial is impossible for theself-centered man. The cross of man is hard to bear because itrequires giving up one’s will in order to live at peace withothers. That is why efforts of nations to make peace do notsucceed. That is why the world is filled with hatred, war, andviolence.

8 What is the cross of man and why is it so hard to bear?

.......................................................................................................

Let us consider the problem of the self-centered man.Suppose there was only one man in all the world. He would haveno one to deny him his will, no one to argue with, and no one totrouble him or to say “no” to his wants. It is possible that hecould be self-centered and still live in peace.


Now suppose we add onemore man to the world. Youwould now have two wills todeal with. If each man wasself-centered, you would notwant to put them close togetheror their wills would conflict.So you would put one on oneside of the world and one onthe other side.

But what happens when weadd many more self-centeredmen to the earth? They willhave to live closer together,and soon their wills andactivities will begin toconflict. When this happens,there is certain to be a struggleof wills, and there will betrouble.

In a world of so many thousands of people, there is littlepeace. There is little rest. Why? Because the world is full ofself-centered men, each wanting his own will to be done onearth. Each becoming angry with all those opposing him.

9 Why is there often conflict where there are several people?

.......................................................................................................

Let us take a closer look at the self-centered man. He is thecenter of all that he sees and knows. He judges others “good” or“bad” by how they treat him. Members of his family and histribe are “good” or “bad” depending on whether he gets therespect and honor from them that he thinks that he deserves. Ifhis brother marries the girl he himself wanted, he judges hisbrother to be “bad.” If his father gives him an ox, he judges hisfather to be “good.” He looks at people from other nations andjudges them as possible enemies and not as “good” as those ofhis own nation. Those of his own race are “better” than those ofanother race. He makes all these judgments because he is eitherself-centered, tribe-centered, religion-centered, nation-centered,or perhaps, race-centered. We can illustrate what we are talkingabout like this:


10 How does the self-centered man judge others?

.......................................................................................................

Now, any one of these can make trouble if they become thecenter of man’s seeking. In times of war, a very honorable manwill be judged “evil” by the enemy, not because he is himselfevil, but just because he belongs to the nation which is at warwith his own! When self, tribe, nation, religion, or race becomethe most important thing in a man’s life, it becomes the center ofhis seeking. Their single standard of “goodness” depends uponwhat is in the center of their lives. This opens the door for allkinds of conflicts.

As believers, let us not lose sight of Christ, who is the truecenter of our lives. This is the way the drawing should look:


11 The center of a believer’s life should bea) self.b) race.c) Jesus.d) religion.

The Yoke of Christ

The condition for peace, as Jesus taught it, was to removeself, family, tribe, nation, and race from the center of our lives,and to put Christ and His kingdom there (Romans 8:6). By doingso, things would be judged “good” or “bad” by how theyaffected the kingdom of God.

This would divide the world into two groups—those who arethe children of God’s kingdom, and those who are the children ofthe devil. The children of God would be content and happy,because they would all be seeking the same thing. They wouldbe seeking to honor God’s will.

12 What is Christ’s solution for the cross of man?

.......................................................................................................

The self-centered man cannot understand the emphasis upon“things above.” However, the self-centered man should be lovedby the child of God. The child of God should seek to win theself-centered man to the kingdom of God, knowing that Christ,by dying on the cross, died to lighten the cross of self-denial.This is a cross which must be carried by all men. You see, manfinds the cross of self-denial unavoidable yet unbearable. He


cannot escape the need to deny himself in order to live withothers in this world. Yet he is unwilling to give up his wants andhis “rights.” Because of this unwillingness to deny himself, lawsare needed to make him respect others and yield to their rightsand wishes. He obeys the law, but he is miserable and angry,because he is self-centered!

13 What is the believer’s message to the self-centered man?

.......................................................................................................

Christ told us to come toHim and to put on His yoke(Matthew 11:28-29). Onewho does not put on Christ’syoke carries the cross alone.Sinful men find the cross ofself-denial unbearable. Forthe believer, Christ calls it a“yoke.” Why? Because ayoke is always a sharedburden—carried together. So,Jesus says to us, “Bring yourcross to me . . . we will bear ittogether . . . my yoke willbind us together under theburden . . . and you will findthat my yoke is easy, and myburden light!”

14 What is the difference between a cross and a yoke?

.......................................................................................................

Once again we see the value of prayer and worship. This is the“come unto me” that is our part to do. When we go to Jesus inprayer, the burden of getting along with people is made easy.Those who are fighting with men of other families, tribes, nations,and races find that Jesus has the answer to their problem. Byputting Christ at the center of our lives, it is possible to live atpeace with all men. By being concerned about the kingdom ofGod above everything else, we open the door of forgiveness to oneanother, and thereby receive the forgiveness of God!

15 Christ’s yoke is easy becausea) Christians don’t have as many problems as sinners.b) Christ is there to share the burden with us.c) Christ takes our cross away.


Even though Christ is the center of our lives, otherrelationships such as those involving family, friends, and societyremain important to us. We still love our children and ourfamilies, but they are not at the center of our lives—Christ is.This means that all who believe in Jesus are our brothers andsisters, no matter what their nation, race, religion, or tribe.

16 What is the relationship of Christ-centered men of differentnations to each other?

.......................................................................................................

So, prayer and worship are important They help us put Christat the center of our lives. When Christ is the center of our lives,it is possible to live in peace with all men!


self-testSHORT ANSWERS. Write the correct answer in the spaceprovided.

1 Why do we need to pray in order to forgive?

.......................................................................................................

2 How does being concerned about the kingdom of God aboveeverything else help us in praying about forgiveness?

.......................................................................................................

3 How is it possible to forgive those who have wronged us?

.......................................................................................................

4 What is the cross of man?

.......................................................................................................

5 How does the self-centered man judge the good and bad inthe world around him?

.......................................................................................................

6 Name five things that may become the center of life for men.

.......................................................................................................

7 What is Christ’s solution for the cross of man?

.......................................................................................................


answers to the study questions 9 Each wants to have his own will done.

1 Because it requires that we forgive all who have wronged us.

10 He judges others by how they treat him.

2 a True.b False.c False.d False.

11 c) Jesus.

3 The human spirit is not a forgiving spirit. We need help fromGod.

12 To put Christ at the center of life.

4 In one of them man is seeking the kingdom; in the other, manis seeking to forgive others.

13 Christ by dying on the cross lightens the cross of self-denial.

5 b) is forgiven because of his faith.

14 A cross is carried alone; a yoke is a shared burden.

6 a) forgives others.

15 b) Christ is there to share the burden with us.

7 Ask to be made like Jesus; ask for grace to forgive.

16 They are brothers and sisters in the family of God.

8 Self-denial. It requires giving up our wills in order to live atpeace with others.


For Your Notes

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“Do not bring us to hard testing”Matthew 6:13

How practical is prayer! How related to our daily walk! Buthow we need the power of God in our lives if we are to beovercomers! One thing we should say over and over in prayer is,“I can’t do it by myself. I can’t do it by myself. I need help!”

We have learned that the Holy Spirit is called the“Paraclete”—the One called alongside to help. If we are to beovercomers, we must let Jesus baptize us with the Holy Spirit sothat He can help.

Here is a wonderful promise: “But God keeps his promise,and he will not allow you to be tested beyond your power toremain firm; at the same time you are put to the test, he will giveyou the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out”(1 Corinthians 10:13).

But note! The way out is the way of “outside help”—helpfrom the Holy Spirit. You cannot do it by yourself!

151

lesson outline

The Way to Spiritual VictoryThe Enemy to FightThe Armor of GodThe Place of Victory

The Way to Spiritual Maturity

lesson objectives


• Understand how to overcome temptation.

• Evaluate your own stage of spiritual maturity.

learning activities

1. Draw the illustration on spiritual maturity and learn Romans7:23 and Romans 8:1-4.

2. Read Ephesians 6:14-17. Make a list of your weaknesses andplan how you are going to overcome them by regular prayerand application of the help God has made available to you.


3. Read the lesson development section by section. Write theanswers to the study questions and self-test questions.

key words

enticed sanctity victorylust spiritual maturityovercomer temptation

lesson development

THE WAY TO SPIRITUAL VICTORY

Objective 1. State the difference between “temptation” and “sin.”

We have talked about the needs of man. We have said that“support” is “added” to those who are concerned, aboveeverything else, about the kingdom of God. The ability to live atpeace with others in the world is given in the same way.

We now speak of the inner struggle of the believer to liverighteously and with sanctity in order to please God. Keep inmind that by sanctity we mean the inward purity that God wantsus to have. Now, let us look at a diagram of this.

Again, we see that the thing sought is the kingdom of God.As a result, sanctity is the thing added.

Sanctity Needs Fulfilled 153

1 What do we mean by sanctity?

.......................................................................................................

Everyone experiences this inner struggle to live good lives.However, the unbeliever does not have the answer to it. He mayknow the difference between what is good and what is evil buthe lacks the power to do good. He is unable to overcome sinalone.

The believer has the answer! As in the other lessons, the firstthing we learned was that we cannot do it alone. We need help fromoutside. Jesus shows us the way to spiritual victory. We need helpfrom above! This is why the answer to overcoming temptation is thesame as for finding “support,” or for having peace. We win thevictory over sin by being concerned, above everything else, with thekingdom of God. When our affections are set on things above, Godgives us strength to overcome things below!

2 What is the believer’s answer for spiritual victory?

.......................................................................................................

The Enemy to Fight

If we are to pray as we should concerning spiritual victory,we need to know something about the enemy we face and howhe fights.

Not many people have seen the devil. Yet he is very real, andhis power is seen and felt everywhere. This means that we willnot see the real enemy we fight. We will only see the things heuses to overcome us. One of the things the devil uses to fight usis temptation.

3 The enemy of the believera) is everywhere for all to see.b) hides his power so as not to be known.c) tries to cause him to sin by tempting him.


There are several things we should know about temptation.James 1:14 (KJV) says, “Every man is tempted . . . .” There aretwo things to learn from that Scripture:

1. Every man has natural desires. If there were no desires, therecould be no temptation. Jesus, Himself, had natural desires.

2. Every man is tempted. Even Jesus was tempted. Thisindicates that it is not a sin to be tempted.

Then, James 1:14-15 goes on to say, “. . . when he is drawnaway of his own lust and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, itbringeth forth sin, and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”From this we can learn several more truths:

1. Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his ownlust and enticed. Jesus was tempted, but Jesus was not drawnaway from His obedience to the will of God.

2. To be “drawn away” is to be turned aside from the properuse of natural desires. God gives natural desires, and if used asHe intended, they are pure and good. God is pleased when weuse them properly.

3. Lust is to be drawn away and enticed to use naturaldesires improperly. It becomes sin when we allow ourselves tobe trapped by evil desires.

4. Lust is the beginning of sin. “Lust, when it hathconceived, bringeth forth sin.”

5. Temptation is NOT sin if we do NOT yield to it.Temptation becomes sin if we yield to it.

4 Circle the letter to the left of each TRUE statement.a It is not wrong to be tempted.b Every man is tempted.c Jesus was not tempted.d The natural desires will always be with us.

Natural desires will always be with us. God put them there,and they are not evil. We should not feel ashamed of them.However, these good desires will become evil if we allow themto “draw us away” from the proper use of them. They willbecome lust, which is the beginning of sin.


Jesus was tempted, but He did not yield to temptation. Jesuswas tempted, but He was never enticed. That is, He neveryielded to the temptation to satisfy His natural desires in animproper way.

5 Why do we say that Jesus was tempted but did not sin?

.......................................................................................................

Perhaps you will say, “Did Jesus have the same naturaldesires that we have?” Yes, Jesus had the same natural desiresthat we have. He was tempted in all things that tempt us. Youcan read this in Hebrews 4:15. How did Jesus resist? He prayedat all times. His words are, “Keep watch and pray that you willnot fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh isweak” (Matthew 26:41). Remember, it is no sin to be tempted—unless we let our natural desires become lust and lead us tothinking and acting in a sinful way. If our natural desiresbecome lust, then we are already on the road to sin.

So, our thoughts must be pure, and our natural desires mustbe under the control of the Holy Spirit. A Spirit-led person willgive no chance for natural desires to become lust which wouldlead to sinful desires and sinful acts.

6 To lust means toa) be tempted to satisfy natural desires.b) be drawn away from the proper use of natural desires.c) have natural desires common to all men.

Some Christians think that our natural desires leave us whenwe are saved. This is not so. God shows us a way to control ourdesires and use them in a pure and righteous way, but He doesnot take them away from us. If there were no desires to control,it would be no effort to live a sanctified life. Times oftemptation are times of opportunity for God to show His power.Let us, then, make use of the “way out” (1 Corinthians 10:13)that God has provided for us.

The glory of holy living is the fact that it takes place in themidst of temptation! It is a very dangerous thing to think that theChristian has no natural desires after he is saved. If a Christian


believes this, he will not admit that he has temptations, and hewill not be watchful. The Christian who knows that he hasnatural desires is more likely to be a man of prayer. He willavail himself of the strength that God gives by His Spirit forcontrolling them. Times of temptations are times of opportunityfor God to show His power. It is in times of our greatestweakness that the power of God is the greatest.

7 What happens to a believer’s natural desires when he issaved?

.......................................................................................................

We must always be watchful and not give place to wrongdesires. We must remember that the devil is real, and that heuses everything he can to get the believer to fall. He knows theproper desires of man. He knows that they were given by God tobe used properly. But he also knows how strong the desireswithin man are, and he tries to cause men to be “drawn away”by turning good desires into evil ones. This is why we must heon guard against the devil.

Two things we should remember concerning temptation are:

1. All of us have desires that tempt us, but Jesus gives usthe power to control them.

2. There is a real devil who tempts us, but Jesus gives us thepower to resist him.

The Armor of God

The source of power with which to fight the devil’stemptation is prayer and worship. We come back once more towhat we have said before concerning “support” and “social”needs. If we want sanctity, if we want the overcoming life, or ifwe want victory, we must seek God, His kingdom, and His willabove everything else. In other words, we seek “Him” who is thesource of all that we need.

Now what do we receive in prayer and worship that will helpus at the time of battle? We receive several important things.


1. We learn to know our Leader, Jesus Christ, and to haveconfidence in His leadership.

2. We learn what His plans and His will are so that we canobey His orders.

3. We are filled with power by the Holy Spirit so that, whenthe battle comes, we will have strength to fight.

4. We are given weapons with which to fight and theinstructions on how to use them.

8 What is the source of power we have with which to fight theenemy?

.......................................................................................................

In Ephesians 6:14-18 Paul tells usabout our weapons. “So stand ready,with truth as a belt tight around yourwaist, with righteousness as yourbreastplate; and as your shoes thereadiness to announce the Good News ofpeace. At all times carry faith as a shield;for with it you will he able to put out allthe burning arrows shot by the Evil One.And accept salvation as a helmet, and theword of God as the sword which theSpirit gives you. Do all this in prayer,asking for God’s help. Pray on everyoccasion, as the Spirit leads. For thisreason keep alert and never give up; prayalways for all God’s people.”

9 What are the items in the believer’s armor?

.......................................................................................................

Notice two things. First, the armor is spiritual and is givenby God to withstand the devil. The armor is truth, righteousness,peace, faith, and salvation. Second, the weapons are spiritual.They are the Word of God and prayer. Both of these are usedwith the help of the Holy Spirit.


Notice, too, that prayer is mentioned three times. You can’tget ready for spiritual battles without prayer. You can’tovercome temptation without prayer. Prayer provides thecharacter, the power, the armor, and the weapons by which wewin the victory!

10 How many times are we told to pray in Ephesians 6:18?

.......................................................................................................

It is not enough to have the sword in your hand, the Spirit asyour helper, and to have prayed before going to battle. You musthave on the armor of God to cover and protect you. You musthave the righteousness, peace, and the joy that the Holy Spiritgives.

This is why Jesus said, “Be concerned above everything elsewith the Kingdom of God and with what he requires of you”(Matthew 6:33). If you have the armor, the Spirit will help youwin the victory as you use the sword of the Word of God.

So, Pray! Pray! Pray! Pray as Jesus said to do. Pray for thethings of the kingdom, and you will be able to overcome.

11 What can we learn from the believer’s armor?

.......................................................................................................

The Place of Victory

There are several things we should know about victoriousliving. First, we cannot conquer “outwardly” until we learn toconquer “inwardly.” The devil holds many men captive, but Godhas given us spiritual weapons to pull down Satan’s“strongholds” and set men free. We cannot do so until weourselves are free from the power of sin. We cannot help othersovercome temptation until we have learned the secret ofovercoming ourselves! The way to overcome temptation is toput God’s will above everything else. When we seek only to seeHis name honored, we overcome the temptation to seek our ownpleasure.


12 For those who would conquer outwardly, what must theyfirst learn?

.......................................................................................................

The second thing to learn about spiritual victories is that theyare won on the battlefield—at the place where we have to fightthe enemy. Some Christians think we win spiritual victories “onour knees.” But when we are in prayer, we are not fighting thedevil. We are talking to our Leader. We are getting a new supplyof weapons. We are getting our fighting orders. We are gainingpower and knowledge. But we are not winning the battle. Oh,for sure, we gain great confidence in prayer as we realize thegreat power God is giving us. We shout and praise because ofwhat we know God will help us to do. But we are not winningthe battle.

Battles are won on the battlefield! We will be constantlyovercome unless we take the strength and the wisdom that Godgives us while we are on our knees and go with them to battle.Prayer is preparation for battle! The “praying” of someChristians is nothing more than repeated confessions of failureand begging God for forgiveness. They have no victory becausethey do not use the power available to them in the hour oftemptation!

13 What is the Christian’s preparation for battle?

.......................................................................................................

THE WAY TO SPIRITUAL MATURITY

Objective 2. Describe the stages in the growth process of a child ofGod.

Objective 3. Compare the three laws mentioned in Romans 7:23and Romans 8:2 with the three stages of spiritualgrowth.

Spiritual maturity is “added” when we seek first the kingdomof God. It is through the Word of God and through speakingtogether with God that we become like Christ. This is what wemean by becoming spiritually mature.


There are three stages in the growth process of the child ofGod. He starts as a spiritual baby and passes through a stage ofspiritual youth until he becomes a spiritual adult. Let’s comparethese three stages with the three laws mentioned in Romans 7:23and Romans 8:2. The three laws are:

1. The law of the flesh.2. The law of the mind.3. The law of the Spirit.

The believer still controlled by the law of the flesh is aspiritual baby. He is a “no law” person because, like ananimal, he only does what he feels like doing. His idea of lifeis, “If it feels good, do it.” Actually, he acts like anunbeliever.

The believer controlled by the law of the mind is aspiritual youth. He obeys the law, but not with his heart. Hedoes right because the law demands it, whether it is the lawof his home, the law of the church, or the Law of Moses.

The believer controlled by the Spirit is a spiritualadult. He obeys the law of God because he loves God. Heputs the kingdom of God above everything else. He hasthe righteousness, peace and the joy that the Holy Spiritgives.


14 Match the letters to the left of the statements with the correctstage (right) of spiritual growth.

. . . . a The law of the Spirit

. . . . b The law of the flesh

. . . . c The law of the mind

1) Baby2) Youth3) Adult

How can a spiritual baby grow to be a spiritual adult? Thesecret is in how to pray. If he prays right, he will live right!Right praying leads to right living. Right living becomes prayerwithout ceasing! The spiritual baby cannot control his angerwithout help. Neither will he control his desires by himself. Thegovernments of the world seek to control the carnal nature ofman by laws and punishment for breaking the law. When thechurch has many spiritual babies, it often follows the world’sway of handling law breakers. It sets standards and laws tocontrol the lawlessness of the babies.

15 How can a spiritual baby become a spiritual adult?

.......................................................................................................

When a child is law abiding, he is no longer a baby, but ayouth. He acts intelligently like a human being should, and heresponds to reason. The same is true of spiritual growth. When aspiritual baby becomes a spiritual youth he honors the authorityof the church and obeys its laws. He is a good church memberand is respected because he is law-abiding.

But to be merely law-abiding is not to be mature, either as acitizen or as a Christian. A citizen is only adult when he doesright, not because the law tells him to, but because he believes indoing what is right whether the law requires it or not. That is themark of a mature man, and so is it in the life of a Christian. Heis only spiritually mature when the love of Christ motivates him.He is filled with love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness,goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. He needs no “law”to make him act like Jesus.

16 When is a person spiritually mature?

.......................................................................................................


Then, how can a spiritual baby grow to be a spiritual adult?By working hard to be perfect? By struggling with his desires?By laws? By schools? Never! The answer is in prayer andworship. It is in presenting ourselves to the Son of God. Theapostle Paul says it beautifully in 2 Corinthians 3:18, “All of us,then, reflect the glory of the Lord with uncovered faces; and thatsame glory, coming from the Lord, who is the Spirit, transformsus into his likeness in an ever greater degree of glory.”

Sanctity, Christlikeness, and spiritual maturity all come to usby the Spirit of the Lord! They cannot be received except byright praying. They cannot be received until we seek, aboveeverything else, to honor God’s name, to seek His kingdom, andto do His will! Let us worship our Lord through our right living.

17 Circle the letter to the left of each TRUE statement.a Spiritual maturity can be learned by reading books.b We cannot change ourselves.c We are changed by the Holy Spirit.d A spiritual baby can become a spiritual adult by working

hard.


self-test

SHORT ANSWERS. Write the correct answers in the spaceprovided.

1 How does the believer differ from the unbeliever in hisstruggle for sanctity?

.......................................................................................................

2 Every man is ............................ when he is ............................

of his own ....................... and ....................... (James 1:14 KJV).

3 What happens to a believer’s natural desires when he issaved?

.......................................................................................................

4 What is the source of power with which to fight the enemy?

.......................................................................................................

5 What is prayer in relation to the Bible?

.......................................................................................................

6 Name three marks of a mature believer.

.......................................................................................................

7 How can a spiritual baby grow to be a spiritual adult?

.......................................................................................................

8 Read 2 Corinthians 3:18 and tell its meaning.

.......................................................................................................

9 Why is a law-abiding Christian not necessarily a spiritualadult?

.......................................................................................................



9 Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation.

1 Inward purity that God wants us to have.

10 Three times.

2 Jesus shows us the way; help from above.

11 It is our protection in battle.

3 c) tries to cause him to sin by tempting him.

12 To be overcomers inwardly.

4 a True.b True.c False.d True.

13 Prayer.

5 He was tempted, but He was not drawn away and enticed(He did not yield to the temptation).

14 a 3) Adult.b 1) Baby.c 2) Youth.

6 b) be drawn away from the proper use of natural desires.

15 By praying right.

7 They remain with him, but he is given power to control themby the Holy Spirit.

16 When he is motivated by love.

8 Prayer and worship.



For Your Notes

166

LeLeLeLesssssssson on on on 10101010SSSSeeeeccccuuuurrrriiiitttty y y y NNNNeeeeeeeeddddssssPPPProvrovrovroviiiiddddeeeed Fd Fd Fd Forororor

“But keep us safe from the evil one”Matthew 6:13

The devil is real. He is a roaring lion looking for someone todevour. He comes in sheep’s clothing. He is the father of liesand his evil influence is very strong in the world today.

The devil works very hard to discourage believers. The devilwould succeed if it were not for the “wall” the Lord puts aboutHis people. God knows we do not grow strong spirituallywithout tests and trials. Therefore, God removes the wall fromtime to time. He allows Satan to trouble us. This is for our good,but we can only know the good of it by prayer and worship. Thefirst question to ask God when we have trouble is, “Lord, whatare You wanting to teach me?”

Trouble can work for us. “And this small and temporarytrouble we suffer will bring us a tremendous and eternal glory,much greater than the trouble” (2 Corinthians 4:17). Let us maketrouble our servant! Let us get all the good out of it that we can!

167

lesson outline

The Source of DeliveranceThe Power of PrayerThe Power of Love

The Secret of SecurityThe Security of the BodyThe Security of the Soul

The Pattern of the Lord’s PrayerThe Central ThemeA Prayer for Us

lesson objectives


• Explain how prayer and love are related to deliverance.

• Describe how security is received through prayer andworship.

• Summarize the prayer Jesus taught in Matthew 6:9-13.


learning activities

1 Read the lesson development section by section. Write theanswers to the study questions and self-test questions.

2 Memorize 1 John 4:18.

3 Pray the prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 slowly, trying to rememberthe meaning of every sentence as you have learned it.

4 Review the self-test questions from Lessons 7-10.

key words

security tormentsummary

lesson development

THE SOURCE OF DELIVERANCE

Objective 1. State why the love of God is important to those whobelieve in ancestral spirits.

We have come to the final lesson of this book. We are goingto talk about things that touch all of our lives. We are going totalk about troubles that come to us from outside. We will talkabout evil spirits, sickness, floods, and famine. We can haveprotection and deliverance from these things also. Praise God!

One thing to remember is this—the devil can’t trouble usunless God allows it. If God allows it, then He must have apurpose in doing so. There must be something He wants to teachus. So, once again, we will be concerned above everything elseabout the kingdom of God so that we might’ learn what goodcan come out of the things that happen to us for the kingdom.Then, when we pray for deliverance, we will pray according tothe will of God. So, our illustration looks like this:

Security Needs Provided 169

1 Explain the illustration.

.......................................................................................................

Let us be sure we do not try to use God to get ourdeliverance. God must always and ever be the object of ourseeking. We must not do this:

2 Explain the illustration.

.......................................................................................................

The Power of Prayer

The importance of prayer is known by those who believe inthe unseen world of spiritual beings. It is very real for those whoknow the power of Satan and his evil spirits. Jesus knew thetruth about evil spirits. He knew that they exist. He knew thatthey torment men who are not protected by God. The Lord castout many demons. They were all afraid of Him because theyknew His power was greater than that of Satan.

Praise God, we can have Jesus’ power. This is the power thatdemons fear! They will not fear us, but they will fear the Onewho is in us. “The Spirit who is in you is more powerful than thespirit in those who belong to the world” (1 John 4:4).

3 Circle the letter to the left of each TRUE statement.a Jesus knew the truth about evil spirits.b The demons did not fear Jesus.c We do not have power over demons.d Satan’s power is greater than our power alone.

If we are going to have the same power that Jesus had overdemons, we must be concerned above everything else with thekingdom of God so that our wills are exactly the same as Hiswill. His Spirit can work through us only if our will is in keepingwith the will of God. Once again, we must emphasize the need


of prayer and worship. We must speak together with God oftenif we are to know how to use His power.

The Power of Love

When we talk about demons and about deliverance fromtheir power, we must talk about the power of love. We refer, ofcourse, to our love for God. Once more we see the need toworship so that our love for Him will grow.

First John 4:18 is a wonderful verse. It talks about the powerof love. It says, “There is no fear in love; perfect love drives outall fear.”

What a picture we have of those who believe in the unseenworld of spirits but who do not know God’s power! For them, fearis king. Fear is behind everything they do. Because of fear theymake a lot of rules. Don’t go on the path if a black cat has crossed it.Don’t eat food that has been prepared by a woman who has hersickness. Don’t walk under a ladder. Don’t use your childhoodname. Don’t live in a house that has not been prepared withmedicine against evil spirits. Don’t plant your crops until a certainday. Don’t do work under a full moon. Don’t! Don’t! Don’t! Don’t!Every tribe and nation has its don’ts, and all of them come fromfear. Fear of spirits, fear of death!

4 Why do people make a lot of rules?

.......................................................................................................

“Fear hath torment” (1 John 4:18, KJV). Fear! How horribleit must be to live in constant fear. These people fear they mayeven die! They look for charms and medicines to break thepower of the evil spirits. They look for something to deliverthem from the things they fear. We can illustrate it like this:


5 What do we mean when we say, “fear hath torment?”

.......................................................................................................

Now all of what we have said does not apply to theuneducated world alone. Much of it applies to educated peopleand to men in high offices. Fear does not dwell only with thepoor and the ignorant. Fear visits government offices. Fear goesinto kings’ palaces. Fear sails in ships on the ocean. Fear iseverywhere, for it is found wherever there are people who do notknow the power of love!

What should we do about fear? The apostle John gives us theanswer. He said, “There is no fear in love; perfect love drivesout all fear” (1 John 4:18).

6 Circle the letter to the left of each TRUE statement.a Only the unlearned have fear.b A king never has fears.c Fear is found everywhere.d Perfect love drives out all fear.

The more we love God, the less fear we have. The less we loveGod, the more we have fear! Learn to love God, and fear will flee.Love will drive it out! Now you can see the importance of prayerand worship. It is through prayer and worship we learn to know andto love God! So, when love comes, our illustration looks like this:

Are you afraid of death? Are you afraid of poverty? Of war?Of evil spirits? Of sickness? Of accidents? Of lightning? Ofwind storms? Of darkness? These are things that do not go


away. They are always with us. But the fear of them can betaken away. To know and love God, and to have His kingdomwithin us, is to have fear cast out. God will deliver us from fear!

7 How can we get rid of fear?

.......................................................................................................

THE SECRET OF SECURITY

Objective 2: State the secret of security.

The Security of the Body

Let us begin by discussing what we need deliverance from.What is the worst thing that could happen to a person? Somewould say that the worst thing that could happen would be todie. Others would say that the worst thing that could happenwould be to be blind, or to be crippled. Still others would saythat to be poor is worse than death.

But what does God say? He says, “Do not be afraid of thosewho kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather be afraid ofGod, who can destroy both body and soul in hell” (Matthew10:28).

“Will a person gain anything if he wins the whole world butloses his life?” (Matthew 16:26).

“God chose the poor people of this world to be rich in faith”(James 2:5).

“I know that you are poor—but really you are rich!”(Revelation 2:9).

What God is saying is that there is something worse than thedeath of the body. There is something of more value than riches.It is important to know what things have true and lasting valueso that we can pray properly.

8 What does God say about the body and the riches of thisworld?

.......................................................................................................


Do you remember when Paul, the apostle, was told that if hewent to Jerusalem he would be killed? In Acts 21:13, heanswered, “What are you doing, crying like this and breakingmy heart? I am ready not only to be tied up in Jerusalem buteven to die there for the sake of the Lord Jesus.” What Paul wassaying was, “What happens to me doesn’t matter. What happensto the name of Jesus does matter!”

The Security of the Soul

The secret of security is to have eternal life. “And eternal lifemeans knowing you, the only true God, and to know JesusChrist, whom you sent” (John 17:3). Eternal life is a matter oftime, but it also means knowing. To live forever is nothing to bedesired unless the life is good forever! When we know God, wehave eternal life. And when we have eternal life, we are alwayssecure. When we turn our backs on God and refuse to know Himthen we lose the security He has promised us.

The worst thing that could happen to a Christian is to beseparated from God. If sickness will draw us nearer to God, thensickness is not evil. If poverty will make us trust in God more,then poverty is not evil. If an accident will awaken us fromcareless living, then the accident is not evil.

9 The worst thing that could happen to a Christian is toa) be sick.b) be poor.c) have an accident.d) be separated from God.

The evil we need to be delivered from is the evil that wouldseparate us from the Lord. If pleasure separates us from theLord, then pleasure is evil. If riches separate us from God, thenriches are evil. If health makes us forget God, then healthbecomes evil to us!

The apostle Paul was a man of many troubles. He wasshipwrecked; he was beaten; he was imprisoned; and he wasstoned. Yet he never sought deliverance from these things. Heaccepted them as part of his life for Christ. Paul knew the secret


of security! He had eternal life, and no man could take it fromhim! He sought only to “know Christ and to experience thepower of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings” (Philippians3:10). By knowing Jesus, Paul was secure.

It is those who put the kingdom of God before all else whohave learned that praying brings security. They will survive allthe fiery darts of the wicked one, and will be called overcomersat the throne of God!

10 What is the secret of security?

.......................................................................................................

THE PATTERN OF THE LORD’S PRAYER

Objective 3. Construct a statement summarizing Matthew 6:9-13.

The prayer that Jesus taught, ends with the words, “For thineis the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen”(Matthew 6:13, KJV).

So prayer, as Jesus taught it, starts with worship and endswith worship. After we have put God’s name, God’s kingdom,and God’s will first in prayer and in living, we can make ourpetitions known unto God. We know that He will provide all thethings we need!

11 Fill in the blanks with the proper words.

“For Thine is the ............................., and the .............................

and the ............................, for ever. Amen.”

12 Fill in the blanks with the correct words.

The prayer that Jesus taught starts with ................................ and

ends with ............................


The Central Theme

Worship is praise to God. Worship is service to God.Therefore:

1. Praying means always worshiping. it means speakingwith God often to know how to use His power.

2. Worship means always putting God’s name, kingdom,and will first in our praying.

3. Worship means always putting God’s name, kingdom,and will first in our living.

A Prayer for Us

We close this book about prayer and worship with thisprayer: Our Father, we come as thy children who are part of thefamily of heaven. We worship You. May Your holy name behonored. May Your kingdom come. May Your will be done.May these things always be first in our lives. We do have needs.Grant them according to Thy will and plan. We need support forourselves and our families. We need to get along with thosearound us. We need to overcome sin in our lives. We needdeliverance from sickness and dangers around us. Please grantthese requests as we continue to seek, above everything else,that which is unseen and eternal. Amen.


self-test


1 What must we do if we are to have a ministry ofdeliverance?

.......................................................................................................

2 What does perfect love do?

.......................................................................................................

3 Why is the love of God important to those who believe inspirits?

.......................................................................................................

4 Name three things people seek deliverance from.

.......................................................................................................

5 What is the secret of security?

.......................................................................................................

6 What is the worst thing that can happen to a person?

.......................................................................................................

7 Write Matthew 6:33.

.......................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................



7 By learning to love God through prayer and worship.

1 We should seek the kingdom of God, and deliverance will beadded.

8 The soul is worth more than the body, and life is worth morethan riches.

2 God is being used as a means to get deliverance.

9 d) be separated from God.

3 a True.b False.c False.d True.

10 Knowing Jesus and putting the kingdom of God before allelse.

4 Because of fears.

11 Kingdom,power,glory

5 It is horrible to live in constant fear.

12 worship,worship.


178

GGGGlllloooossssssssaaaarrrryyyy

The right-hand column lists the lesson in the independent-study textbook in which the word is first used.

Lesson

accordance — agreement; in keeping with 6

affections — desires or feelings; feelings ofwarm liking or strong attachment

3

agnostics — persons who doubt the existence orknowability of God; implies anunwillingness to believe or denythe existence of God

1

ancestralspirits

— spirits of dead ancestors, spirits(relatives) who are considered stilla part of the family and who arebelieved to have power to changethings in the lives of the living

1

animism — belief that there are living souls intrees, stones, stars, etc.; the spiritsare personal and may be feared andworshiped though they are lessthan gods

1

atheists — persons who do not believe in theexistence of God or in any otherdeity

1

believer — term used for a Christian convert; aperson who has exercised savingfaith in the person and work ofJesus Christ

2

Glossary 179

channel — a way or passage through whichsomething flows or passes; the wayby which something moves or iscarried

7

commitment — an agreement or pledge to dosomething; a promise to continue acertain course of action

6

conditions — terms or requirements demandedbefore the fulfillment of a promise

6

culture — the ideas, customs, skills, art, etc.,of a group of people at a given

time

2

deliverance — setting free or being set free;release from bondage

1

disciples — persons who accept and follow ateacher or doctrine; in the Bible thefollowers of Jesus; as used in Lesson5: disciple them; to train, convert,and teach others about Jesus

5

egotists — persons who are self-centered andselfish; persons who think onlyabout themselves and their owninterests

1

enticed — attracted by arousing hopes ordesires; drawn to or away from

9

evangelize — to preach the gospel to; to convertpeople to Christianity

5

fallacy — a false idea; mistaken belief; error 4

fantasy — a daydream; a product of theimagination; image existing only inthe mind

3

foreigner — a person from another countrythought of as an outsider

3


fraternity — the quality or state of beingbrothers; a religious brotherhood;brotherliness

2

function — the action for which a person orthing is specially fitted, used, or forwhich a thing exists; the purpose;normal use

2

GreatCommission

— Jesus' command to preach thegospel on a world-wide basis; eachof the Gospels has its ownstatement of the Commission, but,as used in the lesson, the referenceis to Matthew 28:19-20

5

interpreted — explained the meaning of; translated;as used in the lesson referring to theinterpretation of tongues: the abilityto understand and speak in a knownlanguage that which has beensupernaturally spoken in an unknowntongue, as the Spirit gives the words

1

lust — intense or strong sinful desire; sinfulin either being directed toward aforbidden object or in being so strongthat self-control is lost

9

means — the way to get something 7

meditation — quiet, deep thoughts on sacredmatters as a devotional act

1

nation-centered

— used in a very specific way in thelesson, meaning a person who hashis own nation as the center of hislife, instead of Christ as the centerof his life

8

Glossary 181

nature — as defined in Lesson 1: thecreated world, including theplants and animals that are part ofit; as defined in Lesson 5: thebasic quality that makessomething what it is; the kind of

1, 5

overcomer — someone who has conquered,defeated, or won the victory oversomeone or something; as used inthe Lesson: to have withstood,conquered, and defeated the devil

9

pagan — one who worships many gods or nogod

7

pantheists — persons who believe that God andthe universe are one and the same

1

Paraclete — the Holy Spirit, considered as acomforter and helper; one called tothe aid of another; one calledalongside to help

6

petition — a solemn, earnest request to asuperior or deity; a prayer;something asked for or requested

1

pilgrims — persons on a journey; wanderers;travelers; persons who travel in aforeign land

3

prejudice — a strong opinion, usuallyunfavorable, that is formed withouttaking time and care to judge fairlybecause of a personal dislike or afixed idea; unfair opinion

2

priorities — things superior in rank or position;coming before in order orimportance

1


proclaim — declare openly; make knownpublicly and officially; to praiseand glorify publicly

4

race-centered — used in a very specific way in thelesson, meaning a person who hashis own race or class of people asthe center of his life in place ofChrist as the center of his life

8

reality — actual existence: a real thing; anactual fact

3

rebel — person who disobeys someone inauthority; person who resists orfights against authority instead ofobeying; rebellious, disobedient;defying authority

4

renounce — give up entirely; cast off; to refuseto follow, obey. or recognize anyfurther

2

repent — feel sorry for having done wrongand seek forgiveness, including toturn away from sin and dedicateone's self to a changed life in JesusChrist

2

reprobate — one lost to all senses of duty ordecency; someone who rejectsGod; someone who refuses toaccept (God)

1

reputation — what people think and say aboutthe character of a person; overallquality or character as seen orjudged by people in general

4

Glossary 183

saltiness — that which preserves, corrects, orpurifies; saltiness of the believer;the good influence of the believeron those around him because of hisknowledge of Jesus Christ and therighteous life Jesus helps him tolive

3

sanctity — inward purity; separation fromeverything that defiles; inwardrighteousness received from God

9

security — safety; freedom from fear, danger,anxiety, and doubt

10

social — having to do with human beingsliving together as a group; living orliking to live with others

8

spiritualmaturity

— depth in the Lord: stage of growthas a believer becomes more likeJesus and is motivated by the loveof God; Christlikeness as abeliever seeks to become more likeJesus

9

steward — person who takes care of ormanages another person's property;person called upon to takeresponsible care of goods entrustedto him

7

stewardship — position, duties, and responsibilitiesof a steward

7

summarizing — giving in a short statement themain points

10

support — all the things we need for living:food, clothes, shelter, etc.; meansof livelihood

7


temptation — thing that makes or tries to make aperson do something wrong by theoffer of some pleasures or reward;the act of testing (or trying)especially to do evil

9

tongues — tongue-speaking, or glossolalia, isan expression of sounds in alanguage the speaker has neverlearned and does not understand.the force controlling the tongue isthe Holy Spirit

1

torment — cause very great pain to; to causesevere distress of body or mind

10

tribe-centered — used in a very specific way in thelesson, meaning a person who hashis own tribe as the center of hislife in place of Christ as the centerof his life

8

unbeliever — a non-Christian; a person who hasNOT exercised saving faith in theperson and work of Jesus Christ

2

universalists — persons who believe in the finalsalvation of all men regardless ofthe god they worship

1

usurper — one who takes control by force andwithout right; one who takespower, position, property, or rightsand holds in possession by force orwithout right, namely Satan, thedevil, (as used in the lesson)

4

Glossary 185

victory — spoken of in a spiritual waymeaning defeating the devil; asuccessful outcome (winning) incontest or struggle with the devil:victorious: not being defeated,conquering the things that Satanuses against us

9

yield — submit; give up resistance to; giveup or surrender: turn overpossession to

6

186

AnAnAnAnsssswewewewerrrrs s s s tttto o o o tttthhhhe e e e SSSSeeeelf-lf-lf-lf-TeTeTeTessssttttssssLesson 1

1 Because they are not surethere is a God or that Helistens to their prayers.

2 “There is no fear in love;perfect love drives out allfear.”

3 He becomes a new manwho leaves his evil ways.

4 “Lord, teach us to pray.”

5 Because we are tempted topray to be seen of men.

6 a) Written Word.b) Living Son.c) Holy Spirit.

7 pray, walk (or live), will

8 b) nature is God.

9 b) Read God’s Wordoften, meditate upon it,and ask God to help usunderstand it.

10 c) always seeking God’skingdom aboveeverything else.

11 a 5) Reprobate.b 7) Animist.c 2) Agnostic.d 6) Universalist.e 1) Atheist.f 4) Egotist.g 3) Pantheist.

Lesson 2

1 God wanted to be theFather of a family withsons and daughters wholove Him.

2 With boldness, humility,singing, praises, andthanksgiving (any order).

3 Those who are His sons.Those who are not Hissons.

4 He helps us pray as sons. He makes intercession for

us, He speaks through us intongues for edification.

5 c) we should acceptbelievers as brothersdespite our differences.

6 a False.b True.c True.d True.

Answers to Self-Tests 187

7 a Pb Wc Wd Pe Wf Pg Ph P, Wi Wj P

Lesson 3

1 His speech, behavior, andhis prayer life.

2 In heaven.

3 They did not pray for thecomforts of this world butsought to please God anddo His will.

4 The believer groans withhope. The unbelievergroans without hope.

5 We are to improve theworld through ourpresence.

6 That he will not begin tolove the world.

That he will become a lightin the world.


Lesson 4

1 Servants can serve withoutlove or worship. Sons loveand therefore worship.

2 Other gods cannot showlove or answer prayers.

3 Self, work, men (any order).

4 They followed Paul,Apollos, and Peter, andtherefore dishonored Christ.

5 There is no such thing asan empty throne—eitherGod is on the throne or elseSatan is on the throne.

6 Honor God as King in ourhearts. Keep other thingsoff the throne of our hearts.Believe in the power ofJesus’ name, and claim Hispromises. Guard ourspeech and our conduct.

Lesson 5

1 There is an inward and anoutward kingdom.

2 In our homes,at our work,among friends.

3 Christ is there in the midstof us.

4 It increases in members.Members increase inChristlikeness.

5 Go to them,disciple them,baptize them,teach them.

6 We are to encourage oneanother with thisknowledge.

7 Workers to gather in Hisharvest.


8 That the good news will bepreached in all the world.

9 Through worship.

Lesson 6

1 All men believe.All believers be like Jesus.

2 The Spirit prays for usaccording to God’s will.

3 When we refuse to submitto do His will.

4 When men refuse salvation. When men refuse to

become like Christ.

5 They were all filled withthe Holy Spirit.

6 All things are possible.

7 Things that are not God’swill. Things that may ormay not be God’s will.Things that are God’s will.

Lesson 7

1 It is not God’s will to helpman unless he is willing tobe helped.

2 God wants to provide ourneeds.

There is nothing impossiblewith God.

3 Few believers can resist theselfish living riches bring.

4 By being motivated by loveto obey God.

5 It reveals our priorities inlife.

6 A steward owns nothing.He cares for his master’sproperty. He is cared for byhis master.

7 It will change our attitude.We will seek God’skingdom above everythingelse.

Lesson 8

1 The human spirit is not aforgiving spirit, therefore,we need help from God tobe able to forgive.

2 The kingdom of God is therighteousness, peace, andjoy that the Holy Spiritgives. To have theKingdom is to be able toforgive.

3 By being concerned aboveall else with the kingdomof God.

4 Self-denial.

5 According to what is goodand bad for himself.

6 Tribe, Race, Self, Nation,Religion (any order).

7 Put Christ at the center ofour life, let Him share theburden.

Answers to Self-Tests 189

Lesson 9

1 The believer has the helpof the Holy Spirit.

2 tempteddrawn awaylustenticed

3 They remain with him buthe is given power to usethem properly.

4 Prayer and worship.

5 Prayer is preparation forbattle.

6 A man of love, purity, andtruth.

7 By presenting himself toGod in prayer and worship.

8 We are changed by theSpirit; we do not changeourselves.

9 Because he is notnecessarily motivated bylove.

Lesson 10

1 Talk to God often andmake sure our will is thesame as His will.

2 It casts out all fear.

3 Tormenting fear is foundwhere there is no love forGod.

4 Death, sickness, poverty.

5 Knowing Jesus and puttingthe kingdom of God beforeall else.

6 To be separated from God.

7 Be concerned aboveeverything else with theKingdom of God, and withwhat he requires of you,and he will provide youwith all these other things.

191

PPPPrrrrayayayayeeeerrrraaaandndndnd

WWWWoooorrrrsssshhhhiiiippppUNIT STUDENT REPORTS

ANDANSWER SHEETS

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DIRECTIONS

When you have completed your study of each unit, fill out theunit student report answer sheet for that unit. The following aredirections how to indicate your answer to each question. Thereare two kinds of questions: TRUE-FALSE and MULTIPLE-CHOICE.

PART 1—TRUE-FALSE QUESTION EXAMPLE

The following statement is either true or false. If the statement isTRUE, blacken space A.FALSE, blacken space B.

1 The Bible is God’s message for us.

The above statement, The Bible is God’s message for us, isTRUE, so you would blacken space A like this:

1 B C D

PART 2—MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTION EXAMPLE

There is one best answer for the following question. Blacken thespace for the answer you have chosen.

2 To be born again means toa) be young in age.b) accept Jesus as Savior.c) start a new year.d) find a different church.

The correct answer is b) accept Jesus as Savior, so you wouldblacken space B like this:

2 A C D

Student Report for Unit One

193

STUDENT REPORT FOR UNIT ONE

Answer all questions on the Answer Sheet for Unit One. See theexamples on the DIRECTIONS page which show you how tomark your answers.

PART 1—TRUE-FALSE QUESTIONS


1 I have carefully read all of the lessons in Unit One.

2 How we pray is more important than who we pray to.

3 “God is love” does not mean the same thing as “love isGod.”

4 In praying, we should ask for our own needs first.

5 God’s plan ended with the resurrection of Jesus.

6 A Christian’s righteous life can be a blessing to the world.

7 It is important to God whether a person is rich or poor.

8 A citizen of heaven should not worry about obeying the lawsof his earthly country.

PART 2—MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS

There is one best answer for each of the following questions.Blacken the space on your answer sheet for the answer you havechosen.

9 An egotist does not pray because he believes thata) everything good is God.b) there is no God to listen to him.c) his own ideas are all that matter.

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10 A person who believes in animisma) says there is no God.b) has no god except himself.c) thinks all religions are the same.d) needs deliverance from fear.

11 When praying in public it is important toa) lead the group into God’s presence.b) memorize what you will say.c) practice ahead of time.d) remember people are hearing you.

12 True prayer means that we willa) spend a lot of time in church.b) give God’s kingdom priority.c) persuade God by repeating our petitions.d) try hard to say long words.

13 Any person can be saved bya) calling out to God for help.b) going to church often.c) reading the Bible.d) hoping he will be.

14 All the people who are in God’s familya) are alike.b) live in the same country.c) have Him as their Father.d) belong to the same race.

15 In regard to prayer and worship, prayer has more to do witha) praise to God.b) needs of people.c) rejoicing in God.d) honoring God.

Student Report for Unit One

195

16 In regard to prayer and worship, worship has more to dowitha) making petitions.b) claiming the promises.c) needs of people.d) glorifying God.

17 A Christian shows he is a citizen of heaven bya) having no problems.b) being very poor.c) where his riches are.d) not having to suffer.

18 Heaven is an important place to the Christian because it isa) a beautiful idea.b) a nice dream.c) for older people.d) where his Father is.

19 A Christian can influence the world bya) ignoring its rulers.b) becoming rich and powerful.c) helping it understand God’s plan.d) becoming very busy in its affairs.

20 A universalist’s real belief is thata) God is an idea in man’s mind.b) God is the Creator.c) only one God is the true God.d) everything good is God.

END OF REQUIREMENTS FOR UNIT ONE. Follow theremaining instructions on your answer sheet and return it toyour ICI instructor or office in your area, then begin your studyof Unit Two.

Prayer and Worship

196

STUDENT REPORT FOR UNIT TWO

Answer all questions on the Answer Sheet for Unit One. See theexamples on the DIRECTIONS page which show you how tomark your answers.



1 I have carefully read all of the lessons in Unit Two.

2 We can worship God without worshipping Jesus.

3 We can get too busy serving God.

4 Satan no longer has power over a believer.

5 God’s kingdom is only in heaven.

6 It is not important for believers to meet together.

7 Trouble can be good for a believer.

8 Hebrews 11 shows us that men of faith never suffer.



9 What God wants from us as His citizens isa) strict obedience.b) busy service.c) honor and love.

Student Report for Unit Two

197

10 The Corinthian church was divided because theya) had several different teachers.b) honored men more than God.c) were concerned about each other.d) had several evil teachers.

11 Satan no longer rules the believer becausea) Christ rules the believer.b) no one rules the believer.c) self rules the believer.

12 We know God’s promises can be trusted becausea) we understand His promises.b) He has “signed His name” to them.c) they promise good things.

13 The kingdom of God beginsa) when Christ comes again.b) on judgment day.c) in the hearts of believers.

14 The time of God’s kingdom isa) only now in the hearts of believers He rules.b) now in believers and also when Jesus returns.c) only when Jesus returns to rule the world.

15 The Great Commission is given to people whoa) are called by Jesus.b) have a good education.c) know the church rules.d) understand what baptism means.

16 We learn from Revelation 1:9-20 that Jesusa) walks among actual lamp stands.b) is not interested in churches.c) comes only to large churches.d) approves of believers meeting together.

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17 We need to pray abouta) every kind of decision we make.b) what doesn’t help or hinder God’s plan.c) things which affect the kingdom of God.

18 A believer is able to pray for God’s will becausea) the Holy Spirit will help him.b) he knows the right words to say.c) it is what he usually thinks of.

19 Which phrase expresses a prayer of total commitment?a) “I’ll be a believer if You’ll keep me from sickness.”b) “I’ll do Your will no matter what happens.”c) “I’ll work for You if people will respect me.”d) “I’ll follow You if my friends think it’s a good idea.”

20 Which prayer below should include the words “If it be Thywill”?a) “Please save my sister.”b) “May Thy kingdom come.”c) “Make me like Jesus.”d) “Deliver me from suffering.”

END OF REQUIREMENTS FOR UNIT TWO. Follow theremaining instructions on your answer sheet and return it toyour ICI instructor or office in your area, then begin your studyof Unit Three.

Student Report for Unit Three

199

STUDENT REPORT FOR UNIT THREE

Answer all questions on the Answer Sheet for Unit Three. Seethe examples on the DIRECTIONS page which show you howto mark your answers.



1 I have carefully read all of the lessons in Unit Three.2 Anybody can pray and expect God to meet his needs.3 Tithing is not really a part of worship.4 Believers only need to forgive those who ask for forgiveness.5 It is hard for self-centered people to live in peace together.6 A believer is mature when he does right because the law

requires it.7 Accidents, sickness, and poverty are always evil.8 A Christian’s security is in the fact that he has eternal life.



9 The difference between a believer’s and an unbeliever’sattitude towards his support needs is that a believera) isn’t concerned about his support needs.b) doesn’t have as many needs.c) seeks God’s kingdom first.d) doesn’t have to tell God his needs.

10 The believers who have the “gift of sharing”a) use their money for God’s kingdom.b) give away a lot of money.c) don’t have very much money.d) have a lot of money.

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11 A believer is a good steward when he givesa) only what the law requires.b) hoping God will make him rich.c) himself and all he has to God.

12 It is possible to forgive others the way Jesus taught inMatthew 6:14-15 only if wea) sincerely want to forgive them.b) seek God’s kingdom first.c) are interested in their welfare.d) treat them as friends.

13 A person judges which things are “good” and which thingsare “bad” according to whata) his education is.b) social class he belongs to.c) country he lives in.d) the center of his life is.

14 When Jesus called the cross of self-denial a “yoke,” He wasteaching us that it isa) a burden we share with Him.b) a very difficult thing to bear.c) something we carry alone.d) not for Christians to carry.

15 When a believer wants to have inward purity, he should seeka) righteousness.b) God’s kingdom.c) sanctity.d) forgiveness.

16 Ephesians 6:14-18 teaches us that a Christiana) is supposed to look like a soldier.b) should have only the Sword of the Spirit.c) needs God’s complete armor.d) doesn’t need to pray if he has the armor on.

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17 John and David are members of a church. John tells David todo what is right because that is what their church teaches. John’sattitude is that of a spirituala) baby.b) youth.c) adult.

18 The apostle Paul was shipwrecked and beaten. These thingshappened to him becausea) God allowed them to.b) he wasn’t doing God’s will.c) God wasn’t pleased with him.d) he didn’t have enough faith.

19 Mary, a Christian, tries to overcome her fear of evil spiritsby using a charm. What should she do instead?a) Move to another house.b) Try to believe that the spirits aren’t real.c) Talk to her friends about her fear.d) Learn to know and love God more.

20 The prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 that Jesus gave us to prayshows us that wea) don’t need to ask God for food.b) need to put God’s name, kingdom, and will first.c) should always pray short prayers.d) need to say the same words each time.

END OF REQUIREMENTS FOR UNIT THREE. Follow theremaining instructions on your answer sheet and return it toyour ICI instructor or office in your area. This completes yourstudy of this course. Ask your ICI instructor to recommendanother course of study for you.

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203

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Congratulations on finishing your study of the lessons in UnitOne! Please fill in all the blanks below.

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If so, what is the name of the church? ..........................................

What responsibility do you have in your church? ........................

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ANSWER SHEET FOR UNIT ONE

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ANSWER SHEET FOR UNIT ONE

Blacken the correct space for each numbered item. For allquestions, be sure the number beside the spaces on the answersheet is the same as the number of the question.

1 A B C D 8 A B C D 15 A B C D


3 A B C D 10 A B C D 17 A B C D

4 A B C D 11 A B C D 18 A B C D

5 A B C D 12 A B C D 19 A B C D

6 A B C D 13 A B C D 20 A B C D

7 A B C D 14 A B C D

Write below any questions you would like to ask your instructorabout the lessons.

.......................................................................................................

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Now look over this student report answer sheet to be sure youhave completed all the questions. Then return it to your ICIinstructor or office in your area. The address should be stampedon the copyright page of your study guide.

For ICI Office Use OnlyDate ........................................... Score ........................................

Christian Service Program

205

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We hope you have enjoyed your study of the lessons in UnitTwo! Please fill in all the blanks below.

Your Name ...................................................................................




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ANSWER SHEET FOR UNIT TWO

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ANSWER SHEET FOR UNIT TWO




3 A B C D 10 A B C D 17 A B C D

4 A B C D 11 A B C D 18 A B C D

5 A B C D 12 A B C D 19 A B C D

6 A B C D 13 A B C D 20 A B C D


Write below any questions you would like to ask your instructorabout the lessons.

.......................................................................................................

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Now look over this student report answer sheet to be sure youhave completed all the questions. Then return it to your ICIinstructor or office in your area. The address should be stampedon the copyright page of your study guide.

For ICI Office Use OnlyDate ........................................... Score ........................................


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We hope you have enjoyed your study of the lessons in UnitThree! Please fill in all the blanks below.

Your Name ...................................................................................




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The ICI office in your area will be happy to send youinformation about other ICI courses that are available and theircost. You may use the space below to ask for that information.

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ANSWER SHEET FOR UNIT THREE

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ANSWER SHEET FOR UNIT THREE




3 A B C D 10 A B C D 17 A B C D

4 A B C D 11 A B C D 18 A B C D

5 A B C D 12 A B C D 19 A B C D

6 A B C D 13 A B C D 20 A B C D


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CONGRATULATIONS!You have finished this Christian Service course. We haveenjoyed having you as a student and hope you will study morecourses with ICI. Return this unit student report answer sheet toyour ICI instructor or office in your area. You will then receiveyour grade on a student score report form along with acertificate or seal for this course in your program of studies.Please print your name below as you want it on your certificate.

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